Ford Sales Hit the Skids as Supply Chain Issues Continue

Supply chain issues continue to haunt manufacturers of all stripes, including major automakers.

Ford Motor Co. saw sales decline by 10% in October, CNN Business reports. The American auto giant blamed supply chain woes for the downturn.

The company sold more than 158,000 vehicles over the month, it said in a press release detailing the data. That number was down from nearly 176,000 cars sold in the same month last year.

“Ford, like much of the global economy, has repeatedly run into supply-chain related headwinds,” Michael Ballaban reports for CNN Business. “The company said in September that it could not finish assembling between 40,000 and 45,000 large SUVs and pickups as it did not have all the required parts. In March, the company said it would ship some vehicles without some less crucial computer chips and add them later.”

“Shortages and the rising cost of supplies raised Ford's expenses by about $1 billion in the third quarter,” Ballaban added.

Other major automakers appeared to fare better, according to CNN. Toyota saw sales jump by 28% year over year in October, while Hyundai and Kia “reported strong sales for the third month in a row.”

There was some good news, however, as the company increased its share of the rapidly growing electric vehicle market. The company sold some 6,000 electric cars during the month, up 120% from the same time last year.

Ford said its share of the EV market was up to nearly 9%, making it the second-largest electric car seller behind Tesla. It touted demand for the F-150 electric pickup truck in particular.

“F-150 Lightning had its best monthly sales performance since launch,” said Andrew Frick, the company’s vice president for sales, distribution & trucks, in a prepared statement.

Ford Goes Electric

The company plans to make electric cars 40% of its annual vehicle sales by 2030. Ford has also pledged to invest $29 billion in electrification projects, such as plug-in versions of the F-150 pickup, the Mustang and a luxury sport utility vehicle. 

California will completely ban the sale of new, gas-powered cars by 2035, thanks to a rule recently issued by the state’s Air Resources Board.

Ford’s shift to electric cars has not been entirely smooth. The company last year recalled some 18,000 electric sport utility vehicles whose windshields and roofs could fly off unexpectedly, for example. It has recalled a wide range of other cars over safety concerns since that time.

Fortunately, Ford owners in California do not need to wait for a recall to get defective vehicles fixed. 

The state’s lemon law requires Ford and other car manufacturers to perform various repairs on vehicles while they are under warranty. The law also forces manufacturers to buy back (or replace, in some situations) cars that they cannot or will not fix.

Talk with a California Lemon Law Attorney

If you are a car owner or lessor stuck with a lemon or locked in a dispute with a manufacturer over repairs, the lemon law attorneys at Bickel Sannipoli APC can help. 

Call us at (888) 800-1983 or contact us online to speak with a lawyer today.