Ford Motor Co. sales fell nearly 3 percent in the fourth quarter as sales of the F-150 star were hit by pandemic shutdowns that led to the launch of the latest version of the truck, the automaker said on Wednesday.
Ford’s F,
total sales reached about 4.3 million vehicles in that quarter, down 2.8% from the fourth quarter of 2019, the company said.
Total US vehicle sales fell nearly 10 percent to 542,749 units, truck sales fell more than 12 percent and SUV sales down 4 percent.
Sales of the new Ford 2021 F-150, the best-selling vehicle in the United States for decades, began in December.
“Ford sales were affected by lower F-150 inventories due to the persistent effects of stopping the production of coronavirus Q2 that led to the new F-150 transition,” the company said.
Ford Super Duty truck sales maintained a “strong sales pace” and rose 14.1%, while F-150 sales fell nearly 33%, the automaker said.
Ford called the quarter a “turning point,” as sales of its US sedan fell and sales of newly redesigned trucks and SUVs took off.
Several automakers were expected to see significant declines for last year, stopping a five-year period in which US sales exceeded 17 million vehicles annually.
General Motors Co. GM,
On Tuesday, it reported an increase in total sales in the fourth quarter, but sales fell 12% in 2020.
See also: GM sales fell for this year, but returned to pre-pandemic levels in Q4
Tesla Inc. TSLA,
reported on Saturday that it produced more than half a million vehicles in 2020, delivering 499,550 of them in that year, according to the carmaker’s pre-pandemic guidelines.
Ford shares have lost nearly 4% in the last 12 months, in contrast to gains of about 16% for the S&P 500 index. SPX,