DETROIT — Ford Motor’s U.S. vehicle sales fell 6.6% in the third quarter of 2026, but the headline decline hides a much more important shift inside America’s auto market: buyers are gravitating toward trucks, hybrids and lower-cost vehicles as high gasoline prices and expensive new cars reshape what consumers are willing to buy.
Ford sold 509,764 vehicles in the United States during the third quarter, down from the same period a year earlier.
But the decline was heavily influenced by Ford’s planned phase-out of two crossover models:
Ford Escape
and
Lincoln Corsair.
Ford said that once those discontinued models are removed from the comparison, its total sales were essentially unchanged from a year ago, while the overall U.S. auto industry declined by roughly 1%.
Even more important, Ford estimates that its retail market share—excluding the Escape and Corsair transition—rose by around 0.4 percentage points to 12.1%.
That suggests Ford may be selling fewer vehicles overall while simultaneously strengthening its position in some of its most profitable categories.
FORD SOLD 509,764 VEHICLES IN Q3
Ford’s official third-quarter figures show:
509,764 total vehicles sold
1,516,279 vehicles sold through the first nine months of 2026
and
315,112 trucks sold during the quarter, according to Reuters.
Truck sales rose about 0.5%, despite disruptions involving Ford’s best-selling F-Series.
That is important because trucks and large SUVs remain some of Ford’s most profitable products.
So while headline vehicle volume declined, the sales mix remained heavily concentrated in categories capable of generating stronger margins.
MAVERICK HYBRID BECOMES ONE OF FORD’S BIGGEST WINNERS
The clearest bright spot was the Maverick Hybrid.
Ford sold a record 27,793 Maverick Hybrid pickups during the third quarter, up 59.6% from a year earlier.
Year-to-date Maverick Hybrid sales reached a record 74,300 units.
That performance is becoming strategically important for Ford.
The Maverick combines three things many U.S. buyers increasingly want:
Pickup-truck utility
Relatively affordable pricing
and
Better fuel economy through a hybrid powertrain.
With gasoline prices sharply higher than they were a year ago, that combination is proving particularly attractive.
GASOLINE PRICES ARE PUSHING BUYERS TOWARD HYBRIDS
Reuters reported that average U.S. gasoline prices climbed to around $4.43 per gallon in September, compared with about $3.20 a gallon a year earlier, amid energy-market disruptions linked to the U.S.-Iran conflict.
That change is altering vehicle demand.
Consumers who still want SUVs and pickups—but do not want the operating cost of a large gasoline-only vehicle—are increasingly looking at hybrid alternatives.
Ford is benefiting from that shift with models such as:
Maverick Hybrid
and
F-150 Hybrid.
Through September, Ford sold 34,527 F-150 Hybrid pickups.
The trend is even stronger at Toyota and other Japanese automakers, which have spent years building broad hybrid lineups.
TOYOTA IS CLOSING THE GAP ON DETROIT
Ford’s results are part of a much larger competitive shift.
General Motors remained the largest U.S. automaker by sales during the third quarter, selling 670,974 vehicles, but its volume fell 5.5%.
Toyota, meanwhile, sold 633,223 vehicles, putting it much closer to GM.
Toyota’s hybrid strength has become especially important as gasoline prices rise.
Sales of the Corolla Hybrid jumped roughly 36%, according to Reuters.
The Detroit Three—GM, Ford and Stellantis—now account for roughly 36% of the U.S. market combined, while Asian brands are projected to capture more than half of total sales.
That represents a significant competitive shift in a market long dominated by Detroit automakers.
HYUNDAI COULD EVEN PASS FORD
Another milestone may also be approaching.
Reuters reported that Hyundai was expected to surpass Ford in quarterly U.S. vehicle sales for the first time.
That would be symbolically important.
Ford remains one of America’s most recognizable automotive brands, but Asian manufacturers increasingly offer broad lineups of:
Hybrid vehicles
Compact SUVs
Affordable crossovers
and
fuel-efficient models.
Those categories are becoming more attractive as buyers struggle with high fuel and vehicle costs.
FORD’S F-SERIES REMAINS ITS MOST IMPORTANT PRODUCT
Despite the competitive pressure, Ford still has one enormously powerful advantage:
the F-Series.
Through September, Ford sold 561,508 F-Series pickups, maintaining a lead of more than 140,000 vehicles over the Chevrolet Silverado, according to Ford.
The company says F-Series remains on track to finish 2026 as America’s best-selling truck for a 50th consecutive year.
September F-Series sales rose 2.4% to 67,448 vehicles.
That strength matters because F-Series trucks generate a large share of Ford’s profits.
The company can therefore tolerate weaker sales in some smaller vehicle categories if its truck franchise remains healthy.
SUPER DUTY PRODUCTION HIT A 19-YEAR HIGH
Ford also posted a major manufacturing milestone.
Super Duty production reached 110,275 trucks during the third quarter, up 4.4% year over year and the best quarterly output in 19 years.
Overall F-Series production increased 4.5% to 266,777 trucks.
That higher output should help Ford improve dealer inventories and satisfy demand for some of its highest-margin models.
But production did not go completely smoothly.
A SUPPLIER PROBLEM HIT F-150 OUTPUT
At the end of September, a supplier disruption temporarily affected production of Ford’s F-150 at factories in the Detroit area and Kansas City.
Ford CEO Jim Farley said the issue had been resolved and production restarted.
The company said the disruption was unrelated to earlier fires involving aluminum supplier Novelis.
Ford expects the financial impact to remain manageable within its existing full-year adjusted EBIT guidance of $10 billion to $11 billion.
Still, the episode shows how vulnerable automotive manufacturing remains to interruptions elsewhere in the supply chain.
A problem at one supplier can slow output of a product generating billions of dollars in revenue.
BRONCO HIT ANOTHER RECORD
Ford’s off-road lineup also remains strong.
Bronco sales reached a third-quarter record of 38,020 SUVs and a year-to-date record of 114,956 vehicles.
Ford’s broader off-road-performance lineup—including:
Bronco
Raptor
Tremor
and
FX4-equipped vehicles
represented around 24% of the company’s sales through September.
Total sales across that group reached 123,507 vehicles in the third quarter, up 12.2% year over year.
That reflects another major strategy at Ford:
selling higher-priced versions of trucks and SUVs with premium off-road features.
These trims can provide significantly higher profit per vehicle than basic models.
EXPLORER ALSO CONTINUES TO GROW
Ford’s Explorer has become another strong performer.
Year-to-date sales increased 17.6% to 189,210 SUVs.
Demand has been particularly strong for higher-margin versions such as the Explorer Tremor and Platinum, whose combined sales rose nearly 60%.
Expedition retail sales were also up more than 10% year to date.
Together, Explorer and Expedition sales reached 249,481 vehicles through September, giving Ford what it says is the leading position in the large three-row SUV category.
MUSTANG SALES ROSE TOO
Ford’s traditional performance-car business also showed resilience.
Mustang sales increased 7.5% during the third quarter and were up 17.9% through September.
That growth stands out at a time when many traditional passenger cars have disappeared from U.S. showrooms.
Ford has largely abandoned conventional sedans in North America and concentrated instead on:
Pickups
SUVs
Commercial vehicles
and
performance models.
Mustang is one of the few passenger cars remaining in the lineup.
THE ESCAPE PHASE-OUT DISTORTS THE HEADLINE NUMBER
One reason the 6.6% decline looks more dramatic than Ford’s underlying performance is the planned end of Escape production.
Ford is restructuring parts of its U.S. product portfolio and removing models that no longer fit its long-term strategy.
The Lincoln Corsair is also being phased out.
That means the company deliberately entered 2026 with fewer units from two existing nameplates.
Ford says that excluding those vehicles, sales were effectively flat.
That is a very different picture from a straightforward 6.6% collapse in consumer demand.
NEW CAR PRICES HAVE CROSSED $50,000
There is another major issue affecting the entire auto industry:
affordability.
Reuters reported that the average new vehicle transaction price reached approximately $50,089 in August, up 1.9% from a year earlier.
That puts a new vehicle beyond the comfortable reach of many American households.
Even as auto-loan interest rates have started declining, consumers are still dealing with:
Higher vehicle prices
Lower trade-in values
and
Large monthly payments.
For automakers, that makes affordable models increasingly important.
It helps explain why vehicles such as the Maverick are attracting attention.
CERTIFIED USED VEHICLES ARE BOOMING
Ford is also benefiting from customers who cannot—or do not want to—pay new-car prices.
Its Ford Blue Advantage certified pre-owned sales jumped 44% during the third quarter, making it the top certified used-vehicle brand during the period, according to Ford.
That growth shows how affordability pressures can shift customers into used vehicles while still keeping them inside the automaker’s dealer network.
For Ford dealers, used-car sales can also generate:
Financing revenue
Service work
Warranty business
and potentially future new-vehicle customers.
THE EV BOOM HAS COOLED SHARPLY
The third-quarter auto market also looks very different from a year earlier in electric vehicles.
In Q3 2025, Ford had reported record electrified-vehicle sales, including strong demand for the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning.
But the U.S. EV market weakened after the federal $7,500 new-EV tax credit expired.
Reuters reported that EV sales across the broader industry declined significantly after the incentive disappeared.
Ford has consequently scaled back some of its earlier EV ambitions and shifted more attention toward:
Hybrids
lower-cost electric vehicles
and
profitable gasoline-powered trucks and SUVs.
That change is becoming increasingly visible in its sales mix.
HYBRIDS ARE FILLING THE GAP
The contrast between EVs and hybrids is becoming one of the biggest stories in the U.S. auto industry.
Consumers still want better fuel efficiency.
But many remain concerned about:
EV prices
charging infrastructure
range
and
resale value.
Hybrids remove many of those concerns because they still use gasoline and do not require charging.
At the same time, they can significantly reduce fuel consumption.
For automakers such as Ford and Toyota, hybrids therefore provide a middle ground between traditional gasoline vehicles and full battery-electric models.
FORD IS ALSO BECOMING A SOFTWARE BUSINESS
Vehicle sales are only part of Ford’s strategy.
The company now has more than 1.7 million active paid software subscriptions, up more than 40% from a year earlier.
Those subscriptions include connected-vehicle and commercial-fleet services.
Ford and Lincoln customers have also logged nearly 14 million cumulative hours using BlueCruise hands-free highway driving.
Software is strategically important because it can generate recurring revenue long after the initial vehicle sale.
That could eventually make each vehicle more financially valuable over its entire life.
FORD PRO REMAINS A MAJOR ADVANTAGE
Ford also continues to dominate U.S. commercial vehicles.
The company estimates it has around 41% of the Class 1-7 commercial truck and van market, based on the latest registration data through July.
Transit van sales reached 119,185 through September.
Commercial customers are particularly valuable because they frequently buy multiple vehicles and also purchase:
Fleet software
Maintenance
Charging services
and
Financing.
Ford Pro has become one of the company’s strongest profit engines.
U.S. AUTO SALES OVERALL ARE SLOWING
Ford’s quarterly decline is not happening in isolation.
Industrywide U.S. auto sales were estimated at roughly 4.1 million vehicles in the third quarter, down around 1% from a year earlier.
Consumers are facing a difficult combination:
$50,000 average new-vehicle prices
high gasoline costs
expensive financing
and
economic uncertainty.
That environment makes buyers much more selective.
The winners are increasingly vehicles that offer either:
strong fuel economy,
affordable pricing,
or
high utility for the money.
Ford’s hybrid pickups fit directly into that trend.
THE BIGGER STORY: FORD SOLD FEWER VEHICLES — BUT THE MIX MAY MATTER MORE THAN THE TOTAL
At first glance, Ford’s quarter looks weak:
Sales down 6.6%.
But beneath that number is a more complicated story.
Ford deliberately removed the Escape and Corsair from its future lineup.
Its retail share improved after adjusting for those discontinued models.
F-Series remains dominant.
Bronco reached another record.
Super Duty production hit a 19-year high.
And Maverick Hybrid sales surged nearly 60%.
The company is increasingly concentrating on trucks, large SUVs, commercial vehicles, hybrids and recurring software revenue rather than maximizing raw unit volume across every category.
That strategy could produce stronger profits even if Ford sells fewer vehicles overall.
But there is a much larger competitive warning hiding in the same numbers.
Toyota and other Asian automakers are gaining ground precisely as consumers increasingly favor hybrids and fuel efficiency.
So Ford’s third-quarter result raises a question that goes far beyond one disappointing sales percentage:
Can America’s biggest truck maker expand its hybrid momentum quickly enough to stop Toyota and other Asian rivals from taking an even larger share of the U.S. market?
