DETROIT — General Motors pulled ahead Ford engine to change into the second best-selling all-electric vehicle in the country in the primary quarter, surpassing the one industry leader Tesla.
GM on Monday said it sold 20,670 electric vehicles in the primary three months of the yr. Ford, which was number 2 last yr, reported electric vehicle sales of 10,866 in the identical timeframe on Tuesday.
Motor Intelligence reports that Ford’s electric car sales fell to fifth place in the US in the primary quarter Hyundai engine, including Kia i Volkswagen also overtook Ford, in accordance with data from the automotive industry data firm.
The decline in Ford’s position and sales was mainly as a consequence of production shutdowns at two North American plants producing electric vehicles. Sales of its Mustang Mach-E fell 19.7% in the quarter because it retooled its Mexico plant to double production capability to 210,000 electric vehicles a yr. Ford also lost about five weeks of production for its F-150 Lightning pickup truck as a consequence of a battery fire, resulting in a factory shutdown and a minor recall.
GM is still far ahead of Tesla in electric vehicle sales. Motor Intelligence estimates that Tesla, which doesn’t report sales by region, sold 161,630 electric vehicles in the US in the primary quarter.
Each GM and Ford have said they plan to overtake Tesla in electric vehicle sales in the approaching years. Nevertheless, Elon Musk’s company goals to significantly expand its own production of electric vehicles. Tesla previously said it expected to provide 20 million electric vehicles a yr by 2030.
UAW Local 5960 member Kimberly Fuhr inspects a Chevrolet Bolt EV during production on Thursday, May 6, 2021, on the General Motors Orion assembly plant in Orion Township, Michigan.
Steve Fecht for Chevrolet
Most of GM’s electric car sales were for Chevrolet Bolt models, with prices starting below $30,000. The cars feature older battery technology, called Ultium, than in newer, dearer electric vehicles just like the GMC Hummer and Cadillac Lyriq.
GM confirmed on Monday that it expects to provide 50,000 electric vehicles in the primary half of 2023 and “double that number” in the second half of the yr as Lyriq production ramps up and deliveries of the electric Chevrolet Silverado will begin in late spring.
Ford can be expanding production of its electric vehicles, including plans it confirmed on Tuesday to extend production of the F-150 Lightning at its Michigan plant to an annual production of 150,000 this yr.
Ford said it plans to achieve an annual production capability of two million electric vehicles worldwide by 2026. GM said it could reach the identical threshold a yr earlier.
— CNBC Phil LeBeau contributed to this report.