Ford Motor said Thursday that its U.S. sales fell just 4.5% in May from a year ago, a narrower decline than in recent months, as it continued to see white-hot demand for its latest vehicles amid tight supplies of new cars, trucks, and SUVs.
Ford and other automakers are continuing to fight through supply-chain issues, including a global shortage of semiconductor chips, that has hampered new-vehicle production around the world for over a year. Ford’s monthly U.S. sales were down by over 10% in April, and by more than 20% in February and March.
A Ford spokesperson said that the company estimates that overall U.S. new-vehicle sales were down about 30% from a year ago in May, meaning that Ford likely gained market share.
Ongoing disruptions to Ford’s manufacturing have led to tight inventories at its dealers. In response, Ford has offered incentives to customers who are willing to place orders for their vehicles and wait for them to be built and delivered. Almost half of Ford’s retail sales in May came from customer orders placed earlier in the year, the company said in a statement.
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