Ford reported a big jump in July sales, including sales of trucks and electric vehicles | Rare Techy

DETROIT – Ford engine U.S. vehicle sales last month showed a significant improvement in both volume and truck availability after a fire at a supplier’s plant in Japan hurt sales from a year ago.

The Detroit automaker said Wednesday that its new vehicle sales rose 36.6% in July, compared with an industry estimate of a 10.5% decline. Ford’s July sales of 163,942 vehicles increased by 7.7% compared to June.

A year ago, Ford’s vehicle production and sales fell more than other automakers after a fire at a chip supplier in Japan forced it to cut production in the first half of 2021.

Ford shares rose as much as 6.5% in intraday trading on Wednesday before closing at $15.69 a share, up 3.5%. Despite its best performance since the Great Recession last month, the stock is set to fall about 25% in 2022.

Sales of Ford’s profitable F-Series pickups reached 63,341 in July — marking the first time sales have topped 60,000 this year. Sales were up 21.1% year-over-year and about 10% month-on-month.

Ford said its share of the U.S. electric vehicle market reached a record 10.9% last month as the company ramps up production and availability of the F-150 Lightning pickup, Mustang Mach-E and E-Transit van.

According to Ford, a total of 30,648 units of electric vehicles were sold in July. That included sales of about 7,700 vehicles in July, up 169% from a year ago.

Sales of all Ford vehicles, including its luxury Lincoln brand, reached more than a million through July, down 3.3% from a year ago. At the end of last month, the automaker’s U.S. vehicle inventory stood at about 254,000 units, up from 160,000 in July 2021.

Cox Automotive forecasts total U.S. vehicle sales will be 14.4 million units in 2022, down from an earlier forecast of 15.3 million, as supply chain issues are bigger than expected. At current sales rates, new vehicle sales this year would end before 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic forced dealerships and factories to temporarily close.