Ford slips down sales list as century-old nemesis makes fun of slump

Daily Mail​

a day ago

America's biggest automaker is charging ahead.
General Motors — the owner of Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac, and Buick — says it has sold 62,000 EVs through May of this year.
Chevy led the electric charge with its two crossover SUVs, the Equinox and the Blazer, selling 37,000 units by the end of May.
The EV sales number is a stunning feat for the competition between America's most iconic carmakers: Chevy's sales were enough to beat Ford Corporation's entire EV lineup over the same period.
GM namecalled Chevy's Ford-beating sales in its press release.
Ford's three-pronged lineup of E-Transit commercial vans, F-150 Lightning pickups, and Mustang Mach-E crossovers sold 34,000 in the same month. That's an eight percent dip on a year ago.
Ford blamed the drop on a redesigns of the Mach-E and Lightning. A spokesperson told DailyMail.com the modest design changes resulted in temporary inventory shortages.
Ford said EV sales will rebound as stock returns, adding, 'We expect to see a strong June sales month as stock hits dealer lots.'
Chevy's sudden sales surge comes as the battery-powered industry goes through several major shifts.
While Tesla still dominates the EV market, its grip is slipping. Legacy car brands like Chevy, Hyundai, Kia, and Toyota are launching a slate of new cars that often undercut Tesla's pricing.
Customers are responding positively, with GM claiming that May was its second-best EV sales month ever.
'Customers are responding in record numbers to our world-class portfolio of electric and gas-powered vehicles,' Rory Harvey, the company's VP and president of global markets, said.
'We more than doubled our EV sales compared to the same period last year.'
But even as legacy carmakers post electric milestones, headwinds are intensifying.
Consumer interest in EVs is sliding, government incentives are under threat, and supply chains are starting to feel the pinch of geopolitical tension.
A new poll from AAA found that 63 percent of Americans say they're 'unlikely or very unlikely' to consider an EV for their next vehicle — a 10-point jump in just two years.
Ford said its EV sales decline was largely attributed to a redesign of the Mustang Mach-E
'Since we began tracking interest in fully electric vehicles, we've seen some variability,' Greg Brannon, director of automotive engineering.
'While the automotive industry is committed to long-term electrification and providing a diverse range of models, underlying consumer hesitation remains.'
Political winds aren't helping either.
The Replican backed spending bill — dubbed the Big, Beautiful Bill by President Donald Trump — aims to slash the federal $7,500 EV tax credit, which has helped keep prices competitive.
Killing the subsidy would instantly make EVs more expensive for many buyers. According to the AAA poll, Americans listed higher prices as the biggest problem with EVs.
'It's our belief that consumers will switch to electric when EVs achieve price parity with gas cars,' Seth Goldstein, an EV analyst at Morningstar, told DailyMail.com.
Meanwhile, automakers are bracing for supply shortages after China responded to Trump's tariffs by tightening exports of rare-earth magnets — a key component in EV motors.
While gas cars use around half a pound of the material, electric cars need nearly a pound per vehicle.
Automakers are betting big on new tech to weather the storm.
Drivers have grown more skeptical of EVs, according to new polls from AAA
GM is investing heavily in lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery development, which could cut costs, reduce reliance on rare earths, and enable domestic production — all while meeting or exceeding current range standards.
Toyota is launching three new EV models in the US, while several companies are looking at reshoring EV production across America.
Automakers looking at the future of the industry still largely believe that Americans will eventually transition to fully electric vehicles.
It just will take more time than originally expected.
Jeremy Snyder, chief commercial officer of the newly-unveiled Slate electric truck company, told the Daily Mail that US EV manufacturing is a no-brainer.
'Building EVs for a new company is the only obvious solution,' he said.