Ford Q2 2024 sales up 1%

ford Sales rose 1% in the second quarter from the same period a year earlier, mainly due to a 5% increase in truck sales, the automaker reported on Wednesday.

Ford truck sales, which include pickups and vans, totaled 308,920 vehicles during the period, the company’s best second-quarter performance for the category since 2019, Ford said. F-Series sales totaled 199,463 vehicles.

Ford's sales of electric vehicles were 23,957 in the second quarter, up 61 percent. The automaker said its electric vehicles, particularly the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning, are attracting new customers to the company.

Meanwhile, sales of hybrid vehicles totaled 53,822, up 56 percent and setting a new quarterly sales record for Ford since it began offering hybrid models more than 20 years ago, the company said. Automakers including Ford are leaning on hybrids to ease the EV transition and help meet tougher federal fuel efficiency standards.

The update comes a day after Ford's cross-town rival General Motors reported a 0.6% increase in sales in the second quarter compared to a year earlier. According to GM, total sales were 696,086 vehicles, which is the highest quarterly figure since the fourth quarter of 2020.

Even modest sales increases for both Ford and GM beat expectations for the overall market. Auto industry forecasters including Cox Automotive and Edmunds expect second-quarter sales to be about flat year-over-year across the industry.

— CNBC's Michael Wayland contributed to this report.