Ford Motor (F) logged higher US vehicle sales for January on an annual basis despite a sharp drop in electric vehicle sales.
The automaker said Friday it sold 152,617 vehicles last month, up from 146,356 a year earlier. EV sales tumbled nearly 11% to 4,674 units.
Last month, Ford said it was lowering the production of its F-150 Lightning electric pickups to match customer demand. The company also had said it expected continued growth in global EV sales this year, though less than projected.
Hybrid vehicle sales in the US surged 43% year over year to 11,157 last month, while internal combustion sales advanced 2.6% to 136,786. Sport-utility vehicle sales increased 8.5% to 68,120, and truck sales rose 1.5% to 80,726. F-150 Lightning sales ticked 0.3% lower to 2,258. Car sales dropped 6% to 3,771 units, the company said Friday.
Ford outlined plans in January to create roughly 900 new jobs and add a third crew at its Michigan Assembly Plant to boost the output of its Bronco and Bronco Raptor SUVs and its new Ranger and Ranger Raptor pickups.
Bronco sales in the US dropped 27% year over year to 7,427 units last month, while Bronco Sport rose 4.1% to 9,821.
The company is scheduled to release its fourth-quarter financial results Tuesday. Analysts polled by Capital IQ are looking for normalized earnings of $0.12 per share on revenue of $41.38 billion.
In January, Ford logged an annual gain in 2023 fourth-quarter US vehicle sales, pushing its full-year sales to the best level since 2020. EV maker Tesla (TSLA) last month projected its vehicle volume growth in 2024 will likely be less than that of 2023, with Chief Executive Elon Musk saying the company lacked a “crystal ball” on auto margins this year.