Ford studies sturdy demand for brand new automobiles — EV gross sales have tripled

Ford Motor Co on Tuesday reported sturdy demand for brand new automobiles in the USA in September amid inflation worries, with gross sales of its electrical fashions tripling over final yr.

“Demand stays sturdy with new retail orders quickly increasing,” Andrew Frick, Ford vp, mentioned in an announcement.

Shares of the automaker have been up 6% in morning commerce as broader markets gained on easing U.S. Treasury yields. 

Ford’s bullish commentary comes days after an inflation warning from the nation’s largest used-car retailer, CarMax Inc, which mentioned softness in used shopper purchases spilled into final month.

Analysts are warning that red-hot demand for vehicles and vans might lose steam within the coming quarters as rising rates of interest discourage customers from paying extra money for automobiles.

Nonetheless, stock shortages have been nonetheless at play for main automakers within the third quarter.

“September and Q3 gross sales are coming in precisely as anticipated. They’re nonetheless caught in low gear principally due to stock shortages,” Cox Automotive analyst Michelle Krebs mentioned.

Ford bought 142,644 automobiles in September, down 8.9% as in comparison with a yr earlier, although gross sales of EVs have been up 197%. Greater than 50% of retail gross sales have been coming from beforehand positioned orders — and retail orders for 2023 model-year automobiles have been up 244%.

Its friends Basic Motors Co reported on Monday a 24% soar in quarterly gross sales whereas Toyota Motor’s U.S. gross sales declined 7.1% to 526,017 automobiles in the identical interval.

The carmaker, which goals to meet up with electrical automobile (EV) trade chief Tesla Inc, noticed its EV gross sales triple over final yr powered by gross sales of pickup truck F-150 Lightning.

“F-150 Lightning stays one in all Ford’s fastest-turn in automobiles on vendor heaps, handing over simply eight days,” Ford added. Gross sales of the Maverick small truck have been even hotter, with it spending simply 5 days on vendor heaps. Gross sales of the Mustang Mach-E and  Bronco have been additionally significantly sturdy.

This comes as Tesla mentioned on Sunday it bought fewer-than-expected automobiles within the third quarter as deliveries lagged method behind manufacturing as a result of logistic hurdles.