Ford truck, hybrid models lead to 13% increase in August sales

DETROIT — Ford Motor’s U.S. vehicle sales jumped 13.4% last month, led by increases in the company’s F-Series trucks and hybrid models.

The Detroit automaker reported sales Thursday of nearly 183,000 vehicles in August, including a 12.3% increase in trucks and a roughly 50% jump in hybrid vehicles compared to a year earlier. Its all-electric vehicle sales jumped 29% during that time, including a notable increase in its F-150 Lightning pickup.

Despite the increase in electrified vehicles, traditional cars and trucks with internal combustion engines still represented 86% of Ford’s sales last month.

Ford’s August sales outpaced overall industry estimates of a roughly 6% year-over-year increase from a year earlier, according to Barclays.

Despite steep prices and high interest rates, U.S. auto sales have remained stable in 2024, but they’re not as high as some expected to begin the year. Barclays on Thursday lowered its 2024 sales forecast from 16 million vehicles to 15.8 million, citing a 15.7 million sales pace through August.

“While potential interest rate cuts may help affordability, so long as [manufacturers] aim to keep prices elevated, it will likely be difficult for [seasonally adjusted annual rate] to surpass the ~16.0mn level,” Barclay’s Dan Levy wrote Thursday in an investor note.

Ford’s U.S. sales through August were up 4.3% to 1.4 million units.

Ford’s August sales weren’t the only double-digit increases. While not all automakers report monthly sales, the Hyundai brand reported a 22% increase in sales last month compared to August 2023.