Ford’s February auto sales jump as supply chain issues improved

Ford Motor Co., CEO Jim Farley gives the thumbs up signal prior to saying Ford Motor will companion with Chinese-centered, Amperex Engineering, to develop an all-electric powered car or truck battery plant in Marshall, Michigan, in the course of a push meeting in Romulus, Michigan February 13, 2023.

Rebecca Cook dinner | Reuters

DETROIT — Ford Motor’s February product sales enhanced by far more than 20% from subdued final results a yr before, as the automaker ratchets up creation of its F-Series pickups and electric cars.

The Detroit automaker Thursday documented February revenue of 157,606 autos, up 22% from a 12 months before and a 7.7% boost from January. Ford’s revenue have been hampered by supply chain complications in February 2022, creating for a single of its worst months considering the fact that 2021.

Income of Ford’s F-Collection pickups jumped 22% very last month when compared with a yr before, rising to about 55,000 models, which include 1,336 units of its electrical F-150 Lightning. So far this 12 months, product sales of F-Series pickups are up 15%.

Ford’s electric powered auto sales — a significant target of Wall Avenue — proceed to boost, up 88% from a year earlier. However, EV gross sales nonetheless only depict 2.9% of the automaker’s income by February.

The automaker marketed 3,600 electric powered F-150 Lightning cars by means of February. Nevertheless, profits ended up off 41% when compared with January as the automaker halted generation and shipments of the car last month thanks to a battery fire.

Wall Road analysts estimate U.S. automobile revenue past thirty day period had been improved than anticipated, achieving a seasonally altered promoting amount of about 15 million units. BofA Securities approximated income had been up by 8.5% very last thirty day period compared with February 2022.

Ford’s February income outpaced other automakers who documented regular monthly sales. Toyota Motor’s profits very last thirty day period had been down by 8.5% when compared with a 12 months before, while Hyundai-Kia’s income improved by 16.2%. Many automakers have moved to quarterly gross sales reporting as an alternative of monthly.

The automotive market continues to navigate by means of some supply chain and creation issues,  despite the fact that the movement of areas and car production this yr is envisioned to be a lot more consistent than in new many years.

“We are optimistic concerning our overall performance this year,” Hyundai Motor North America CEO Randy Parker explained to CNBC on Wednesday. “We do foresee that curiosity prices will continue to climb for the equilibrium of the year, and hopefully that isn’t going to suggestion us into a recession.”

— CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.