Ford Motors vehicle sales show profitable progress

A global scarcity of semiconductor chips and other supply chain issues are still causing challenges for the auto market, although Ford Motor's U.S. vehicle sales show considerable increases in volumes and truck availability.

According to the Detroit automaker, new vehicle sales increased 36.6 percent in July compared to the same month last year, while industry sales were expected to have decreased by 10.5 percent. Ford sold 163,942 automobiles in July, a 7.7% increase over June.

A fire incident at one of Ford's semiconductor chip suppliers in Japan necessitated manufacturing reductions in the first half of 2021. The company's automobile manufacturing and sales dropped more than those of other manufacturers a year ago.

Ford's shares jumped as much as 6.5 percent to $16.15 per share in early trading on Wednesday. The stock is still expected to decline by around 24 percent in 2022, despite its significant moves last month.

The automaker reported that its market share for electric vehicles in the United States reached a record 10.9 percent last month as a result of its increased manufacturing and sale of the E-Transit van, Mustang Mach-E crossover, and F-150 Lightning pickup.

Ford reported that 30,648 electric vehicle units have been sold as of last month. This included 7,700 vehicle purchases, a 169 percent rise from the same period last year.

Over 1 million Ford automobiles, including those under the upscale Lincoln brand, were sold in July, a 3.3 percent decline from the same period last year. The automaker had around 245,000 vehicles in its U.S. vehicle inventory at the end of July up from 160,000 in the same period last year.

Due to more severe supply chain problems, Cox Automotive projects total U.S. car sales to be 14.4 million units for the year, down from a previous projection of 15.3 million. 

Shortage in EV battries supply

The price of EV battery materials like nickel and cobalt is rising, and there is a shortage of electric vehicle batteries. Ford Motor claims that in about four years it would be able to produce millions of EVs annually at a profit.

The Detroit manufacturer provided investors with a little more insight this week about how it intends to accomplish that target and restructure its gas-guzzler-based company.

Ford said in March that it would restructure its company and split its internal-combustion engine and electric vehicle operations as its market share increases. The automaker stated that by 2026, it intends to produce almost a third of its total global output—more than 2 million electric vehicles—while increasing operational profit.