Ford's Impressive June Can't Hide Worrying 2022 Performance

But of all Ford's products, only three have shown YTD improvement compared to this time last year - all of them SUVs. The Bronco is the best of them - obviously - while the Mustang Mach-E (from 12,975 in 2021 to 17,675 in 2022) sales are up 36.2% and the Edge SUV (from 39,355 in 2021 to 51,453 in 2022) is up 30.7%. These three models bolstered Ford's SUV results with a 2.3% growth factor YTD.

But on the whole, Ford saw its overall YTD sales drop by 7.9% with car sales plummeting by 39.5%. This should come as little surprise since theFusion is no longer in productionand last year accounted for 11,453 sales. The Mustang's YTD figures are down from 31,950 to 26,244, representing a 17.9% dip. On the truck front, F-Series sales are down 17.3% with 299,345 trucks moved in 2022 compared to 362,032 in 2021, Range sales are down 42% at 33,840 units YTD. Maverick sales are entirely new with 38,753 YTD while none were delivered in 2021.

On the Lincoln front, car sales died entirely as Lincoln stopped selling the MKZ and Continental, but YTD SUV sales haven't been able to compensate, with the brand facing a 12.3% deficit, selling only 42,893 vehicles compared to last year's 48,924. Still, the Corsair and Nautilus showed small improvements, up 3.9% and 3.7%, respectively.

The question is, where to from here. Is a strong showing in June a sign that Ford's Q3 will be better? Perhaps. "Amid industry-wide supply constraints, Ford outperformed the industry driven by strong F-Series, Explorer and new Expedition and Navigator SUV sales. Combined, these vehicles represented just over 56 percent of our sales in June," said Andrew Frick, vice president of sales, distribution and trucks.

He points to the F-150 Lightning as a crucial model in the brand's trajectory going forward citing that "F-150 Lightningwas America's best-selling electric truck in June in its first full month of sales." With production ramping up and mainstream rivals yet to hit the market, Ford will want to capitalize on the newcomer.

Ford's average transaction pricinggrew by $1,900 per vehiclein June compared to May's data, but with Ford CFO John Lawler previously speaking of more buyersdefaulting on financing payments, a recession in the automotive industry is still potentially looming. Still, with demand outstripping supply, if Ford can negotiate the current supply chain shortages, it could still recover the remainder of 2022 and finish on a high.