FORD: Rough September clouds strong Q3

Ford Motor Co.'s U.S. light-vehicle sales rose 16 percent in the third quarter, despite the automaker stumbling to the finish line with a 9 percent decline in September fueled by ongoing parts shortages.

Even as Ford struggles to get finished vehicles into customer hands, the automaker said demand remains strong, with more than 50 percent of retail sales in September coming from previously placed orders. Ford said it has booked approximately 197,000 retail orders for 2023 model year vehicles, up substantially over demand for 2022 nameplates.

The new Maverick compact pickup is turning on dealer lots in just six days, Ford said. It tallied more than 86,000 orders for the small truck in September, even as order banks for the 2023 model year were open just one week. Sales of Ford electric vehicles are also growing substantially, helping it gain 3.1 percentage points of EV market share in September, to 7 percent.

Ford truck sales rose 4.1 percent, utility deliveries rose 33 percent and car sales jumped 9 percent for the third quarter.

Brands (Q3): Ford, up 16%, Lincoln, up 18%.

Notable nameplates (Q3): Ford F-Series, down 2.8%, Mustang, up 14%, Explorer, up 27%, Bronco Sport, up 3.6%, Mustang Mach-E, up 77%, Escape, up 35%; Lincoln Aviator, up 59%, Corsair, up 78%.

Incentives (September): $984 per vehicle, down 62% from a year earlier, TrueCar says.

Average transaction price (September): $51,786, up 1.9% from a year earlier, according to TrueCar.

Inventory: Gross stock of approximately 315,000 vehicles, up from 259,000 in August and 236,000 in September 2021.

Quote: "Ford continued to see high-demand vehicles turning at record rates in September, while developing electric truck and van leadership and extending our overall truck leadership. Demand remains strong with new retail orders rapidly expanding. We are very pleased with the work from our dealers, employees and the area's first responders, as they are working tirelessly to recover in Florida from Hurricane Ian." —Andrew Frick, vice president of sales, distribution, trucks and Ford Blue

Did you know I? Bronco is now the Ford brand's No. 3-selling utility year-to-date, after Explorer and Escape, passing Bronco Sport and Edge.

Did you know II? Ford says more than 80 percent of Maverick customers are first-time truck buyers, with top competitive conquests coming from Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4 and Honda Civic.