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DETROIT – General Motors pulled in front Ford engine become the second best-selling all-electric vehicle in the country in the first quarter, behind only the industry leader You’re here.
GM said Monday it sold 20,670 electric vehicles in the first three months of the year. Ford, which was No. 2 last year, on Tuesday reported EV sales of 10,866 over the same period.
Motor Intelligence reports that Ford’s first-quarter electric vehicle sales dropped its electric vehicle sales ranking to fifth in the United States hyundai engine, including Kia, and volkswagen edged out Ford in addition to GM, according to the auto industry data firm.
Ford’s drop in rankings and sales was largely due to production shutdowns at two of its North American plants that produce electric vehicles. Sales of its Mustang Mach-E fell 19.7% in the quarter as it retooled a factory in Mexico to double production capacity to 210,000 electric vehicles a year. Ford also lost about five weeks of production of its F-150 Lightning pickup due to a battery fire, which led to a downtown plant and a minor recall.
GM is still far behind Tesla in electric vehicle sales. Motor Intelligence estimates that Tesla, which does not report sales by region, sold 161,630 electric vehicles in the United States during the first quarter.
GM and Ford have said they plan to overtake Tesla in electric vehicle sales in coming years, but Elon Musk’s company is aiming for a significant expansion of its own electric vehicle production. Tesla previously said it plans to produce 20 million electric vehicles a year by 2030.
UAW Local 5960 member Kimberly Fuhr inspects a Chevrolet Bolt EV during vehicle production Thursday, May 6, 2021, at the General Motors Orion Assembly Plant in Orion Township, Michigan.
Steve Fecht for Chevy
The majority of GM’s electric vehicle sales have come from its Chevrolet Bolt models which start at less than $30,000. The cars feature an older battery technology called Ultium than its newer, more expensive EVs such as the GMC Hummer and Cadillac Lyriq.
GM confirmed on Monday that it plans to build 50,000 electric vehicles in the first half of 2023 and “double that” in the second half, as Lyriq production ramps up and shipments of the electric version of the Chevrolet Silverado pickup begin later this spring.
Ford is also expanding production of its electric vehicles, including plans, which it reconfirmed on Tuesday, to expand production of the F-150 Lightning at a Michigan plant to an annual production rate of 150,000 this year.
Ford said it plans to reach annual production capacity of 2 million electric vehicles worldwide by 2026. GM said it would hit that same milestone a year earlier.
–CNBC Phil LeBeau contributed to this report.