Ford sales in the US were up 10% in the second quarter

Ford Motor said new vehicle sales rose 10 percent in the three months between April and June, thanks to strong demand for trucks.

The automaker sold 531,662 motor vehicles, up from 483,688 in the second quarter of the year, while sales of pickups, vans and heavy trucks increased 26 percent. The gain in truck sales more than offset the nearly 3 percent decline in electric vehicle sales.

Ford sold 14,843 battery-powered cars and trucks in the quarter, up from 15,273 in the same period a year earlier. The company has had to slow production to upgrade its assembly lines and make more vehicles later this year.

The upgrade work primarily affected the Mustang Mach-E, whose second-quarter sales fell 21 percent. Ford also sold 4,466 F-150 Lightning electric pickups in the quarter. That’s more than double the total for the same period last year, and the second-highest quarterly total since the truck went on sale.

On Wednesday, General Motors, Honda, Nissan, Hyundai and Kia reported increases of 14 percent or more. Overall, automakers sold more than four million cars and trucks in the second quarter, up 15 percent from a year ago, according to Cox Automotive, a market research firm. New car sales remain below pre-pandemic levels as parts shortages have forced automakers to produce fewer vehicles over the past three years.