Ford EV Sales Crash 80% in Q3 as Fathom Launch Nears — SkimNews
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- Ford's US EV sales plunged 80% in Q3 to just 6,047 units, with the F-150 Lightning nearly vanishing (289 sold, down 97%) as the model is phased out ahead of the Fathom's arrival
- Mustang Mach-E deliveries fell 72.4% to 5,574 units and the electric E-Transit van dropped 57% to just 184 units, dragging total electrified vehicle sales down 41.3% to 50,355
- The Trump Administration's termination of the federal $7,500 EV tax credit last September triggered a pre-deadline buying surge that distorted the year-over-year comparison
- Ford confirmed the Fathom electric pickup remains on track for an early 2027 launch at $28,350 (under $30,000 with delivery), built on the new Universal Electric Vehicle (UEV) platform at the 3-million-square-foot Louisville Assembly Plant
- CEO Jim Farley told the 2026 Automotive News Congress that launching the Fathom "at scale, at cost, on time" will be "a heck of an effort," even as a Wall Street Journal report pegs a 100,000-unit first-year sales target that would rank it alongside the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y
- Ford extended its Power Promise program for 2026 Mustang Mach-E buyers, offering either a free home charger with standard installation or a $1,500 cash bonus to clear lingering inventory
Why it matters: With the federal tax credit gone and current EV models being deliberately wound down, Ford has staked its electric future on a single new platform — and the 80% Q3 collapse shows how thin its runway has become. Farley's own framing of the Fathom launch as a "heck of an effort" is an unusual public hedge for a CEO, and a miss against the 100,000-unit first-year target would leave Ford with no competing EV in a market where Tesla already sells Model 3/Y at scale.
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