With significant discounts, including employee pricing, Ford had a record US sales month in April. Despite higher truck and SUV sales, electric vehicle sales dropped by nearly 40%. Now, Ford is ending another significant EV project that was expected to help it cut costs and compete with leaders like Tesla.
Ford ends another EV project as sales slip
Ford sold 208,675 vehicles in the US last month, a 16% increase from the same period last year and a new April record. Electrified vehicle sales, including EVs and hybrids, rose 8.4%. However, it was Ford’s gas-powered trucks and SUVs that drove the growth.
Trucks accounted for over half of Ford’s sales last month, with sales up 19% to 116,955 units. Ford sold another nearly 87,000 SUVs, up 13.4% from April 2024.
The growth was primarily thanks to a new promotion launched in early April. CEO Jim Farley told CNN in an interview on Wednesday that Ford is extending its “From America, For America” campaign through July 4. The program was initially scheduled to end on June 2 and offers employee pricing on most 2024 and 2025 models.
Despite higher sales of internal combustion (ICE) and hybrid vehicles, Ford sold significantly fewer electric vehicles last month. Ford sold 4,859 fully electric vehicles in April, which is nearly 40% less than the 8,019 sold in April 2024.
All three of Ford’s electric vehicles —the F-150 Lightning, Mustang Mach-E, and E-Transit —had double-digit sales declines last month.
Ford sold 2,927 Mach-Es (-40%), 1,740 F-150 Lightnings (-17%), and just 192 E-Transit vans in April (-81%). According to a Reuters report on Wednesday, Ford is ending development of its next-generation electric architecture (FNV4).
The project was designed to cut costs, improve efficiency, and drive profits with new features, but sources claim it was too costly.
A Ford spokesperson explained that the company will apply what it learned from the project to its current software. Its main focus will remain on its low-cost EV platform, which is being developed in California.
Ford also extended its “Power Promise” program this week, which offers EV buyers a free Level 2 home charger and several other benefits to help ease the transition to electric vehicles.
