Ford Stock (NYSE:F)
The automotive sector is going through a period of profound change as a direct result of automakers’ transition toward electric cars (EVs) in response to environmental concerns and laws imposed by the government. For more than a century, Ford has been consistently ranked as one of the most successful automakers in the United States. The company, however, has been having trouble keeping up with the competition as a result of the increased demand for electric vehicles.
The month of March marked a significant slowdown in the delivery of electric vehicles manufactured by Ford. If the car manufacturer wants to meet its electric vehicle (EV) goals for the year and reclaim the No. 2 ranking for EV sales in the United States, it needs to step on the gas.
Ford Motor (NYSE:F) reported on Tuesday that it delivered 171,944 automobiles in the United States last month, which is an increase from the 159,328 vehicles it delivered in March 2022. The number of F-Series vehicles that were shipped out increased to 60,381 from 54,995 in February and 44,906 in March 2022.
However, electric vehicle (EV) sales slowed to 1,995 units in March, compared to 3,624 units supplied in February and 3,049 units sold during the same time period a year ago.
F-150 Lightning sales were 691 units, which is a significant drop from the 1,336 units sold in the preceding month. Because Ford halted the manufacture of F-150 Lightnings in the middle of February in order to address a problem with the vehicles’ batteries, a certain amount of drop was anticipated. The production started back up again on March 13th.
Last month, Ford shipped 998 Mustang Mach-E vehicles, which is a significant decrease from the 1,783 units delivered in February and the 2,363 units delivered during the same period a year ago.
It seems likely that the decrease in EV deliveries was the cause of Tuesday’s decline in Ford stock. In the middle of the trading day, shares went down by 0.8%, while the S&P 500SPX –0.81% went down by 0.5%. The decline in value was 0.7% for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA).
The number of electric vehicles (EVs) that Ford shipped during the first quarter increased by 40.6% year over year. Yet the slowdown in sales that Ford has experienced over the past few months appeared to leave an opening for the company’s competitor, General Motors (NYSE:GM). During the first three months of 2022, GM delivered 20,670 electric vehicles (EVs) in the United States, moving the company into the No. 2 slot for EV sales in the United States, which was previously held by Ford.
Electric vehicle (EV) pioneer Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) continues to rank top in EV sales both in the United States and globally. In the first three months of 2018, the business run by Elon Musk delivered 422,875 units all around the world. Although Tesla does not announce deliveries on a regional basis, this amount suggests that approximately 180,000 units were delivered in the United States.
By a significant margin, Tesla continues to be the market leader in sales of fully electric vehicles. With the delivery of 264,647 all-electric vehicles in the first quarter, BYD (1211.Hong Kong) is currently in second place across the world.
By the end of 2023, Ford intends to have an annual “run rate” of electric vehicle production of 600,000 units. It suggests that global sales of electric vehicles will exceed 300,000 units in 2023, but Ford still has a ways to go before it reaches that level.
Outside of the United States, Ford also sells electric vehicles. In 2022, Ford shipped just under 100,000 EVs globally. Among that total, around 62,000 were births that took place in the United States.
In comparison to the decline of 10% seen by the S&P 500, the price of Ford stock has fallen by around 24% over the past year. Investors in the automotive industry have expressed concern regarding the effects that increasing interest rates and falling affordability of new vehicles will have on consumer demand for new vehicles.
Ford has been having trouble keeping up with the competition as the automotive industry goes through a significant transition toward the production of electric vehicles. The poor sales and problems with the supply chain have had an influence on Ford stock values, while General Motors has moved into second place in the market in the United States. In spite of this, there is still a lot of room for growth in the sector as a whole, and Ford has the opportunity to turn things around. The demand for electric vehicles has been on the rise in recent years.
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