Ford US smashed by chip shortage. F Series and Mustang lose their crowns for the quarter

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F Series down to third for Q2 behind RAM and Silverado.

Mustang down to second behind ageing Challenger for Q2. Camaro dismal.


https://www.motor1.com/news/517851/f...cks-lose-sale/

Ford F-Series Loses To Ram And Silverado In Q2 2021 Sales Battle

Jul 02, 2021 at 3:41pm ET

By: Christopher Smith
The F-Series still holds a year-to-date lead but the margin is shrinking.
As we pass the midway point of 2021, Ford's decades-long sales dominance with its F-Series trucks is on shaky ground to say the least. Poring over monthly, quarterly, and year-to-date sales stats from Detroit automakers, we see the F-150 and its beefy Super Duty siblings are in trouble. That's because both Ram and the Chevrolet Silverado outsold the F-Series in the second quarter of 2021, spanning April, May, and June.

Let's jump right into the numbers, and bear with us as it's a bit complicated due to differences in reporting. In short, the Blue Oval had a disastrous June 2021 because of the global microchip shortage. We already covered this in a previous report, but we noticed F-Series sales dropped nearly 30 percent compared to June 2020. That prompted us to look at figures for Ram and Chevrolet, but both companies report quarterly versus Ford's monthly reporting, and Chevrolet reports light duty and heavy trucks separately.


We had to do some additional research and a bit of math to get an apples-to-apples comparison, but with everything tabulated, Ford is in the extraordinary position of being third in truck sales for Q2 2021.

Model Q2 2021 Sales Q2 2020 Sales % Change YTD 2021 Sales YTD 2020 Sales % Change
Ram Trucks 164,232 117,448 + 39.8% 313,068 246,253 +27%
Silverado 161,706 120,744 + 33.9% 286,410 264,442 + 8.3
F-Series 158,235 180,825 - 12.5% 362,032 367,387 - 1.5%

As the chart shows, Ford still leads all competitors in year-to-date truck sales but the margin is just 48,964 to second-place Ram. Compared to last year, Ford's lead was over 100,000 units at this point, which leads us to a curious question. Is the chip shortage really the only source of blame here?

It's tempting to point towards criticism that the new F-150's styling is quite conservative, leading Ford buyers elsewhere. However, if that were the case Ford wouldn't have posted a nine-percent gain in the first quarter of 2021. Similarly, Ford showed a very healthy F-Series gain of 31.8 percent in April 2021. Things didn't take a tumble until May, when the chip shortage really made its presence felt at dealerships. We don't see any deeper conspiracy here. Ford just can't get trucks to the people who want them.

In an email to Motor1.com, a Ford spokesperson said the automaker's plan was for F-Series production to improve through the second half of the year while also delivering current trucks that are parked and waiting for semiconductor chips, which should happen by the end of October. Ford isn't talking about how many built trucks are waiting for chips, but reports and rumors suggest it's in the tens of thousands.


In the meantime, the Q2 sales figures suggest at least some Ford buyers urgently needing a new truck are heading elsewhere instead of waiting. We haven't heard much from Ram about production problems, and we know General Motors shipped trucks to dealerships without some features like cylinder deactivation, which will be remedied later once the necessary chips are available.

With the shortage expected to stretch into 2022, Ford might well lose its decades-old best-selling crown if it can't source the chips needed to get production rolling. The second half of the year could be quite a nail-biter for pickup truck fans.



https://www.motor1.com/news/517875/c...ro-sales-2021/

Dodge Challenger Outsells Ford Mustang In Q2 2021, Camaro Barely Alive

Jul 02, 2021 at 6:26pm ET

By: Christopher Smith
Could we have a new pony car champion by the end of the year?
The second quarter of 2021 in the United States is a period we suspect Ford is very keen to forget. The global microchip shortage is hitting the automaker very hard, and judging by sales figures release for June, Ford is suffering far more than its crosstown competition.

We already covered Ford's overall sales performance through the first half of 2021, and we took a deep dive into the surprising news that Ram and Chevrolet beat the seemingly invincible F-Series in sales for the second quarter. Now it's time for a deep dive on the Mustang, and sorry Blue Oval fans. It's more of the same in the pony car realm as the ancient Dodge Challenger outsold Mustang by a slim margin.

With everything added up, 14,676 Mustangs were delivered in the States during Q2 2021. That's a small decline of 6.6 percent compared to 2020, which also wasn't the best time to be in the auto business. Dodge sold 15,052 Challengers for the same period, but despite production slowdowns it wasn't a year-over-year loss. Rather, it was a 52 percent gain versus 2020 so apparently, last year's COVID-19 lockdown hurt Dodge as much as the chip shortage is now hurting Ford. Still, the Challenger is 13 years old. It's blessed with eternal life.

Meanwhile, news from the Mustang's long-time rival is even worse. The Chevrolet Camaro logged just 2,792 sales for the same period, representing a deathly 58.2-percent drop compared to last year. To make that live for you, Ford nearly sold as many Mustangs in June alone as Chevy sold Camaros through the entire spring season. Yes, there are rumors that GM will keep the Camaro around until 2026, but sales numbers dwindle with every report that comes out and you know GM executives are aware of it.


The global chip shortage and ensuing production delays are hampering sales for all three pony cars, but the chip isn't entirely to blame for this market shift. Camaro and Mustang sales have steadily declined in recent years while Challenger sales have been mostly stable. This also isn't the first time that Challenger outsold Mustang for a specific sales period, though the prancing pony has maintained its status as the best-selling machine in its class.

However, 2021 could be the year that changes. With six months already down, Mustang leads Challenger in the sales race by a mere 3,638 units. Specifically, 33,786 Mustangs are delivered thus far, compared to 30,148 Challengers and just 9,881 Camaros. Even if Ford gets the chip problem under control, it's entirely possible that the enduring Challenger and its dedicated following could unseat the Mustang by the time 2021 is over.