Ford has invested a lot of time and effort in transforming itself into an electric vehicle (EV) player and jumped to the
second position in the US EV market in sales after Tesla with the
iconic internal combustion engine (ICE) brand seeing figures skyrocket by 307
per cent in August 2022.
Ford started seeing success in the EV space after it
converted some of its most sought-after ICE models into electric cars. The
Mustang Mach-E was among the first brands to be converted into an EV in
December 2020.
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| Ford E-Transit is one of the most popular EV vans in the US -- Photo Source: Electrive.com |
Later, Ford rolled out an electric version of its commercial van — the E-Transit — which is a favorite of the industry.
To make a bigger impact in the EV market, Ford launched the
F-150 Lightning, an electric pick-up that joined its most-popular F-series
line-up.
Deliveries of the F-150 started in May 2022, and within
three months, all the 50 states in the US had received the trucks.
Ford chief executive officer (CEO) James Farley had talked
about the immense response the EV generated during the company’s Q2 earnings
call.
He said, “We are overwhelmed with the response to our
first-generation EVs — the Mustang Mach-E, the Lightning and E-Transit. We are
selling them as fast as we are making them.”
Ford is eyeing a 60,000 EV run rate by next year-end and
hopes to scale it up to two million by 2026.
The auto giant is sealing deals for key battery minerals
with suppliers like CATL so that it can meet its targets seamlessly.
After launch, the F-150 had been sold out. Ford had to
reopen orders in August with new pricing and additional colors. Ford also
reopened bookings for the Mustang Mach-E, giving it a fresh set of colors along
with a price hike.
The F-150 Lightning EV truck sold 2,373 units in August, 200
higher than July’s figure.
Meanwhile, the Mustang Mach-E is seeing buoyant demand. Its
sales reached 3,120 units, 115 per cent higher compared to August 2021. Orders for the
new Mach-E touched a record of over 7,800 in the month.
Ford’s commercial E-Transit van rules the electric vehicle
market with 90 per cent share in its segment. The automaker sold a whopping 404 E-Transit’s in
August.
The feedback has been impressive so far, with Ford claiming
the second spot in US EV sales in August behind Tesla.
Henry Ford had transformed the auto industry, launching the
first moving assembly line in 1913 to give a fillip to production.
Ford made the first-ever truck, the Ford Motel TT, in 1915.
Now, the company is heading for an all-electric line-up.
Tesla sales in August were around 47,000 vehicles and Ford,
being in second place, sold 5,896 electric vehicles during the month — this is
nearly eight-fold less.
Ford has made solid progress with its EV push, and although
it has seen a 307 per cent rise in August sales (to make it the second-highest
player), it is still way behind to be a potential threat to Tesla.
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