If you axe four vehicles from your portfolio, then no one should be surprised if your overall showroom sales for the month fall 6 percent compared to the same month last year, right?
This is what happened in January for Ford, whose monthly tally of U.S. sales suffered from discontinuing the compact Escape crossover (-65.5 percent to 3,418 units compared to January 2025), all-electric F-150 Lightning (-66.1 percent to 647 units), E-Transit cargo van (-75.7 percent to 56 deliveries), and the Edge crossover (at zero, from 633 units sold in January 2025).
Ford Lost Its Edge But Gained Sales Elsewhere In 2025
There’s room for more hybrid growth, but check out the EV that seems unaffected by the lost tax credit.
A Whole Lot Of Minus Signs
Beyond these, there were a whole lot of minus signs in the January sales report for Ford, relative to January 2025: EVs (-69.2 percent to 1,743 vehicles delivered), hybrid vehicles (-6.1 percent to 12,485), internal-combustion vehicles (-2.3 percent to 121,134), SUVs (-2.0 percent to 55,939), trucks (-9.2 percent to 75,814), and total vehicles (-5.3 percent to 135,362).
There was one ray of sunshine, albeit small: cars. Yes, after losing the Fusion, Focus, Taurus, and Lincoln Continental years ago, there’s only one car body style in the lineup, the Mustang, and its January sales were up a whopping 50.4 percent to 3,609 units.
Mustang Spikes — In January?
Why would the Mustang — a joy to drive in summer, especially as a convertible — surge in sales in a month when snow-pocalypse gripped much of the nation? Did these shoppers not realize the Mustang is rear-wheel drive and really needs snow tires in weather like this?
Hard to say, but Ford may have stoked interest in the pony car with its Detroit auto show reveal of the high-powered 2026 Mustang Dark Horse SC. It’s available for order in March, with first deliveries in summer, of course.
Find 2026 Ford Mustang and more cars for sale on our Marketplace
F-Series Alarm Bells Sounding
But a nudge for Mustang sales in January was not enough to offset an 18.2-percent fall in F-Series pickup sales, to 47,981 trucks. Losing nearly 11,000 units from Ford’s most profitable vehicle line — in just one month — must be sounding alarm bells in Dearborn.
With the discontinuance of federal EV tax credits, it should come as no surprise that Mustang Mach-E lost 70.5 percent of sales (to 1,040 units) in January.
There Was Some Good News
But now we can highlight Ford’s upbeat data points. Bronco Sport was up 13.5 percent (to 10,641 units), likely pulling in some customers who couldn’t find a 2025 Escape as inventory thins out. Likewise, Ford sold 10,814 Broncos, up 19.4 percent from January 2025.
Both Ford Explorer and Expedition had a good January, up 30.7 percent and 14.0 percent, respectively, to 17,655 and 5,269 units.
Ford’s Pioneering Escape Deserves A Better Sendoff
Is it smart for Ford to ditch its most affordable model, after it has left several vehicle segments already?
Navigator Up 69.4%
Ford Ranger and Maverick were up 26.0 percent and 13.2 percent to 5,671 and 9,885 deliveries, respectively, while E-Series vans and Transit climbed as well, 14.1 percent and 6.3 percent, to 3,354 and 8,159 units, respectively. That’s reasonable growth, but not enough to compensate for F-Series’ fall.
The Lincoln Nautilus dropped 18 percent of volume (to 1,988 units) compared to January 2025, but the luxury brand overall grew sales 9.8 percent to 7,102 units in the month, driven by Aviator (up 34.1 percent to 1,923) and Navigator (up 69.4 percent to 1,572).
Source: Ford
