Ford Has Best Retail Sales Start Since 2001 Thanks To Mustang Mach-E, Hybrid Ford F-150 and Bronco Sport

It’s quite ironic that some of the vehicles that drive the people who claim to be tried and true Blue Oval fans the craziest are the same vehicles that have pushed Ford off to a great start in 2021. Don’t look now, but the Mustang Mach-E, Bronco Sport and the Hybrid F-150 are helping Ford to exceed their sales levels in 2019 and 2020.

“Ford’s retail sales exceeded 2020 and 2019 sales levels. Our customers are really embracing our new electrified vehicle lineup. The all-new fully electric Mustang Mach-E and the F-150 PowerBoost Hybrid lifted Ford’s overall electrified vehicle sales to a record start in the first quarter with sales up 74 percent over a year ago. Our all-new Bronco Sport posted record monthly sales in March and helped power Ford Brand SUVs to their best start in 20 years," said Andrew Frick, vice president of Ford Sales in U.S. and Canada.

As Ford just released their financials from the first quarter of 2021, which just ended yesterday, there were a few things that stuck out. Ford’s electrified vehicle sales saw an increase of 74.1 percent with 25,980 vehicles sold. Now that’s somewhat to be expected as they didn’t have the Mach-E available to sell last year as the roll out began this year.

Be sure to check out my full thoughts on the somewhat controversial Mustang Mach-E. As maligned as this vehicle this, it is a vital part to Ford’s success. For true Ford fans, they should want to see it succeed and will be happy to see the sales of the Mach-E continue to climb even if they don’t like the name.

Let’s take a look at more details of the first quarter sales of the Mustang Mach-E, Ford F-150, including the new hybrid engine and the brand-new Ford Bronco Sport.

Mustang Mach-E Sales
The most important number Ford released, or at least most interesting to me, was that they sold 6,614 Mach-Es in the first quarter. Ford says that 70 percent of those Mach-E buyers came from competing brands.

My colleague John Goreham has written a lot about the Mach-E and compared it to the Tesla Model Y. He even did a story recently about someone who chose to buy a Mach-E over a Tesla. So those 70 percent new-to-Ford buyers are something Ford executives should be proud of.

Success like that is integral to Ford’s long-term financial success. That’s why, even when the knee-jerk reaction (which I too am guilty of) was to attack Ford for putting the Mustang name on an electric crossover, in hindsight, as I noted in my review, it was actually respectful to Mustang to do so.

Choosing such an established, well-known name might’ve led to the hype and sales. Ford is in business to make money, so it seems that gamble is paying off. Sorry Boomers. If it makes you feel better Ford says, sales of GT premium and high-performance Mustang Shelby GT350/GT500 were up 11.9 percent, as Mustang Mach 1 hits dealer lots.

Obviously the GT350 is now discontinued, but it seems muscle car and high-performance aren’t dead yet, as I predicted by the way. EVs and muscle cars can co-exist.

Ford Bronco Sport sales
Another thing that bewilders me is, after all the publicity and hype, that so many Ford fans still think the Bronco Sport is the one and only Bronco. The two-door and four-door full-size Bronco is coming later this year and I anticipate huge sales increases when that happens.

But in my review of the Bronco Sport, I aptly predicted that Ford would sell a lot of the smaller baby Bronco. And after the first quarter, that’s proving to be true as the Bronco Sport has sold 23,356 units so far this year and had their best month with 9,780 units sold in March.

The “not a Bronco” crowd are almost as exhausting as the “not a Mustang” crowd. And so far, those same vocal people seem to be out of touch with what is actually selling. Don’t worry, you will get “your” Bronco in due time.
For now, similar to the Mach-E, the Bronco Brand seems to be drawing in customers from outside of Ford with Bronco Sports sales and Bronco reservations drawing in 60 percent interest from outside of the Ford customer base. Plus,

Ford says that they’ve converted over 125,000 early reservations for the body-on-frame Bronco.

Ford F-150 Sales led by hybrid PowerBoost
My colleague Marc Stern has reported on the semiconductor chip shortage that has led to production delays and plant shut downs for the Ford F-150. This couldn’t have come at a worse time for Ford as they launch and produce in mass their best-selling vehicle and brand new 14th-generation F-150.

Ford will recover from the shortage and get these trucks out to the masses. And as the sales indicate, F-Series pickups were up 9.2 percent overall and 24.5 percent at retail. Ford sold 203,797 F-Series trucks in the first three months, despite the production issues. This helped Ford expand their retail share by 3 percent in the full-size pickup segment.

Ford says sales of the first all-new F-150 PowerBoost Hybrid totaled 7,176 pickups in Q1, with March providing the trucks best performance to-date – up 110 percent compared to February.

I reviewed, in depth, the PowerBoost F-150 and found it to be amazing. Read my full review here and also my love the 7.2-kW Onboard Generator that is the star attraction of the PowerBoost F-150.

Once again, the “my truck needs a V8” crowd might push back against the thought of a hybrid F-150, but it has a lot of usefulness and merit. To be honest, while I never recommend vehicles to friends or family, I have told those who are considering buying a pickup truck to give the PowerBoost serious consideration.

It’s a game changer for Ford Motor Company.

I don’t mean to be condescending or disrespectful to the V8 fans out there or the long-time Ford fans. I truly respect all opinions. But if you claim to be a Ford fan, you should want it to succeed, even if you don’t agree with the name of a vehicle or what powertrain they use in a truck. That’s my two cents, what’s yours?

Leave your comment below.

Jimmy Dinsmore has been an automotive journalist for more than a decade and been a writer since the high school. His Driver’s Side column features new car reviews and runs in several newspapers throughout the country. He is also co-author of the book “Mustang by Design” and “Ford Trucks: A Unique Look at the Technical History of America’s Most Popular Truck”. Also, Jimmy works in the social media marketing world for a Canadian automotive training aid manufacturing company. Follow Jimmy on Facebook, Twitter, at his special Ford F-150 coverage on Twitter and LinkedIn. You can read the most of Jimmy's stories by searching Torque News Ford for daily Ford vehicle report.