24/7 Wall St. Insights

• Weak sales of the Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) flagship electric car show that the automaker continues to struggle in the EV market.
• That is one reason Ford has pulled back from the EV business.
• Also: Dividend legends to hold forever.

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) had reasonably good deliveries in the third quarter. They rose almost 1% to 504,039. Electric vehicle (EV) deliveries rose 12.2% to 23,509, or 261 a day. Sales of its most important vehicle, financially, the F-Series pickup, were 4.2% higher to 198,429. Its electric F-150 Lightning deliveries increased 105% to 7,162. However, deliveries of its flagship electric car, the Mustang Mach-E, dropped to 13,292. Clearly, the company continues to struggle in the EV market.

Ford put real marketing muscle behind the Mach-E. The Mustang sports car brand was among the most iconic in U.S. automotive history. The first Mustang rolled off the assembly line in 1964. The Mach-E isn’t even a sports car but an EV crossover. According to Google, “The Ford Mustang Mach-E was introduced on November 17, 2019, and went on sale in December 2020. The launch was one of the most-watched global product reveals of 2019, with millions of viewers on social media.” Executive Board Chair Bill Ford headlined the event. “The Mustang Mach-E wholeheartedly rejects the notion that electric vehicles are only good at reducing gas consumption,” said Hau Thai-Tang, the company’s chief product development and purchasing officer.

Fast-forward to today. Ford offers 1.9% APR for 72 months, quite an aggressive financing offer. This incentive is rarely available when most car loans are above 5%.

Ford cannot be entirely blamed for the Mach-E problem. EV sales are soft overall. Even Tesla’s third-quarter deliveries were lackluster.

Mach-E deliveries show one reason why Ford pulled back from the EV business.

Three Warning Signs Ford Is in Trouble

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