Ford deliveries down

Ford shares fell 3% after the carmaker reported an overall decline in deliveries in February, but executives noted a strong 11.8% rise in combined Mustang Mach-E and Bronco Sport sales.

Ford Motor Company (F) on Wednesday reported US sales for February, which was the first full month of sales for the Mustang Mach-E and the new F-150 PowerBoost hybrid.

While overall sales were lower than in February 2020, company executives noted that retail sales of Ford's SUV segment posted the best numbers in 20 years thanks to the Mustang Mach-E and the new Bronco Sport.

The company also saw its retail sales share rise to 12% in February, up from 11.7% a year earlier.

Ford shares fell 3% on Wednesday, but the share chart shows a strong 78.5% rise over the past six months.

Ford sales in February 2021

Total Vehicle sales (Total Vehicle) were down 14.1% from last year to 163,520 units, of which:

• Trucks (Truck) accounted for the largest sales, with 88,787 units, which are popular in the US market. Sales in this segment were also the least down on the previous year, with the F-Series having the largest proportion of sales at 64,478 vehicles;
• Sales of SUVs were down 10.2% compared to February 2020;
• The passenger car segment declined the most, by 65.2%, as the auto giant virtually withdrew from this market.

In its report, Ford published the number of sales for each model. Analysts looked particularly closely at its success in sales of new products, with the Mustang Mach-E electric car and Bronco Sport SUVs sold in February: 3,739 and 5,526 respectively.

Ford said last month it would start selling the Mustang Mach-E in Europe as it invests $1 billion in a plant in Cologne, Germany, to make it its first electric car production facility in Europe. Ford also plans to produce the Mach-E in China.

Ford also reported record sales of its F-650 and F-750 commercial heavy trucks, with combined sales jumping 143% to 1,686 units. The all-electric Ford Transit commercial van will go on sale later this year. The all-electric F-150 pickup is due to start shipping next year.

Ford previously announced it will double its investment in electrification to $22bn by 2025.