Ford Motor Co.'s U.S. sales were flat in January, but the automaker reported the best start ever for sales of electrified vehicles.
Overall, the Dearborn automaker reported 143,531 new vehicle sales in the U.S. last month, about the same as it reported in January 2021. Truck sales of 71,734 were off 4.3% while SUV sales of 66,122 were up 8.5% year-over-year.
"Ford market share increased over a year ago on strong demand for our newest products such as Bronco, Maverick and Mach-E," Andrew Frick, vice president of Ford sales for the U.S. and Canada, said in a statement.
Frick noted that Ford took in a record 90,000 new vehicle orders in January as the automaker looks to increasingly generate sales through orders that customers place in advance, rather than browsing dealer lots. That's up by 71,000 units from a year ago and by 20,000 from December. And the automaker reported that 37% of retail sales in January came from previously placed orders.
"Vehicles are turning at a record pace on dealer lots, as we work to fill these orders," said Frick. "This year represents a turning point for Ford in electrified vehicles, as our electrified portfolio grew at nearly four times the rate of the industry segment, with E-Transit and F-150 Lightning set to hit the market."
For electrified vehicles, including battery-electrics and plug-in hybrids, Ford reported that sales of 13,169 units marked a 167.2% increase from a year ago and outpaced the overall electrified segment.
Mustang sales were up 31.2% in January.
In Ford's SUV lineup, EcoSport, Bronco Sport, Explorer and Expedition sales were down. Escape and Edge sales were up. Bronco, which debuted last year, notched 8,101 sales, while the all-electric Mustang Mach-E recorded 2,370 sales.
Sales of Ford's flagship truck franchise, F-Series, were down 8.6% to 50,543 units.
Lincoln brand sales were down 25.8%.
