The phrase “get it before it’s gone” is a tried and true call to action for consumers to take advantage of a sale before it’s over. Ford seems to have benefitted greatly from that type of FOMO recently.
Americans rushed to dealerships to buy EVs following President Donald Trump’s election due to increased anxiety about the fate of the $7,500 consumer tax credit, according to a report from late last year.
California Governor Gavin Newsom announced in November that if the Trump administration eliminates the tax credit, his state will reintroduce the program at the same funding levels.
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The accelerated demand has bled over into this year as the Blue Oval announced on April 1 that its electric vehicle segment had a record start to the year.
A Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck and a Mustang Mach E
Ford’s record-setting EV pace
Ford’s (F) EV segment had a record-setting 2024, and the first quarter looks even better for the company.
Ford sold 73,623 electrified vehicles—including hybrids, plugin hybrids, and electric vehicles—in the first three months of the year, a 26% year-over-year increase.
Related: Surprising Europe news may rock Tesla stock
EVs represented 15% of the company’s total sales, a 3% year-over-year increase.
Sales of the hybrid version of Ford’s ubiquitous F-150 pickup rose 33% year over year, and Ford claims that the Maverick is the country’s best-selling hybrid pickup, with 21,414 sold year to date.
The Mustang Mach E, the electric version of the original pony car, has had a record starting in 2025, selling 11,607 units despite the limited supply.
Electric vehicles accounted for 8.1% of all U.S. light vehicle sales in 2024, and Cox Automotive expects EV sales to account for 10% of sales in 2025.
Ford’s EV results may be in stark contrast to Tesla’s. Tesla demand has reportedly collapsed in key markets like China and Europe amid concerns over Elon Musk’s politics.
In March, Tesla vehicle registrations were 3,157 in March, a 37% drop, according to French industry association Plateforme Automobile. In February, The German Federal Motor Transport Authority said Tesla sales collapsed 76% to 1,429 cars.
Ford’s fast start could slow quickly
Its EV segment isn’t the only segment in which Ford had a strong quarter.
Related: These cars are the least affected by Trump’s sweeping tariffs
Retail sales rose 5% year-over-year thanks to a 19% increase in March. F-Series trucks, by far the company’s most popular segment, grew sales by 24%.
However, overall first-quarter sales fell 1.3% to 501,291 units.
The company says the decline was driven by the timing of daily rental fleet sales and the volume it lost from discontinuing the Ford Edge and Transit Connect vehicles.
But there are further speed bumps ahead for the Big 3 automaker.
Last month, President Donald Trump unveiled a plan to levy 25% taxes on all imported cars starting on April 3.
At first blush, it may seem like a company like Ford, whose name is synonymous with American car manufacturing, would have nothing to worry about from imports on tariffs, but only about 82% of the cars Ford sells in the U.S. are made in the U.S.
Group CEO Jim Farley told investors during its earnings call that while a “few weeks of tariffs are manageable,” protracted levies would have a “huge impact on our industry, with billions of dollars of industry profits wiped out and an adverse effect on U.S. jobs, as well as the entire value system in our industry.”
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