Ford October Sales Slip as EVs Crash 71%
Image: AI-generated illustration for Gearvoniq
Ford October 2026 sales paint a picture of a carmaker at a turning point. Ford Motor Company sold 174,123 vehicles in the United States in October, down 0.8% on the same month last year, as the company wrestled with a steep collapse in electric vehicle sales and a planned wind-down of some of its best-known nameplates. Yet amid the decline, one vehicle kept breaking records: the compact Maverick pickup, whose hybrid version is now carrying much of Ford's momentum.
The headline total hides a sharp split inside the company. Electric vehicles all but vanished from Ford's sales chart, hybrids fell by a fifth, and only traditional petrol-powered vehicles grew. It was a month that showed, in hard numbers, how quickly the American market — and Ford's place in it — is changing.
Key Takeaways: Ford sold 174,123 vehicles in the US in October 2026, down 0.8% year on year. EV sales collapsed 71.2% to just 1,355 units after the F-150 Lightning wind-down and the end of the $7,500 federal tax credit. Hybrids fell 21.0% as the Escape and Corsair were phased out. The bright spot was the Maverick, which set an October record of 11,466 sales, and the F-Series, up 8.2% to 73,482.
Electric vehicle sales collapse 71%
The most dramatic figure in Ford's October report is the electric vehicle total: just 1,355 EVs sold in the whole month, down 71.2% from October 2025. Year to date, Ford has sold 24,008 electric vehicles, down 67.7% from 74,309 in the first ten months of 2025.
Two forces explain the fall. First, Ford has wound down the F-150 Lightning, the electric pickup that was once the centrepiece of its EV strategy. With production ended and remaining stock running low, there is simply little left to sell. Second, the US federal tax credit of $7,500 for electric vehicles ended for vehicles acquired after 30 September 2025. The credit had been a major support for EV demand across the industry, and its removal has hit every manufacturer — but Ford, with its EV line-up already shrinking, felt it hardest.
Image: AI-generated illustration for Gearvoniq
Ford is not abandoning electric vehicles. According to reported plans covered by WIRED on 6 November 2026, the company intends to launch a sub-$30,000 electric pickup called Fathom next year, roughly the size of the Maverick, and to relaunch the Lightning as an extended-range model. Those plans suggest Ford's EV strategy is being rebuilt around affordability rather than the premium pricing of its first wave of electric models. But for now, the sales figures show a gap: the old EV line-up is gone, and the new one has not arrived yet.
Hybrids fall as Escape and Corsair bow out
Hybrid sales also fell sharply in October, down 21.0% to 13,818. Year to date, Ford has sold 152,448 hybrids, down 19.8% from 190,196 in the same period last year. The decline is largely explained by the planned phase-out of the Ford Escape and the Lincoln Corsair, two models that had been important hybrid sellers. When a popular nameplate disappears from the line-up, its sales go with it, and Ford has not yet replaced that volume.
That makes the performance of the Maverick all the more important. The compact pickup has become Ford's hybrid success story, and its numbers point in the opposite direction to the rest of the hybrid range.
October 2026 Ford US sales by propulsion
| Propulsion | October sales | Year-on-year change | Year-to-date sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electric vehicles | 1,355 | -71.2% | 24,008 |
| Hybrids | 13,818 | -21.0% | 152,448 |
| Internal combustion | 158,950 | +3.6% | 1,513,946 |
| Total | 174,123 | -0.8% | 1,690,402 |
The Maverick keeps setting records
The Ford Maverick set an October sales record with 11,466 vehicles sold, up 3.4% on the same month last year. Year to date, Maverick sales stand at 135,147, up 2.4%. It is a remarkable run for a small pickup that many in the industry doubted when it launched, and it is now one of the most consistent performers in Ford's entire range.
The hybrid version is doing the heavy lifting. The Maverick Hybrid set a third-quarter record of 27,793 sales, up 59.6% year on year, and hybrid sales for the first nine months of 2026 reached 74,300, also a record, according to Ford's third-quarter release on 2 October 2026. Ford's monthly sales table does not separate hybrid and petrol versions of the same nameplate, so the exact October hybrid share is not published, but the trend is clear: buyers are choosing the hybrid Maverick in large numbers.
Image: AI-generated illustration for Gearvoniq
The Maverick's appeal is easy to understand. It is small enough to live with in a city, cheap enough to attract first-time truck buyers, and its hybrid version offers strong fuel economy without the price premium or charging worries of a full electric vehicle. In a year when Ford's EV sales have collapsed and its larger hybrids have been phased out, the Maverick Hybrid has become the affordable, practical middle ground that buyers actually want.
It is also a useful guide to Ford's future thinking. The planned Fathom electric pickup is described as being about the size of the Maverick, which suggests Ford has learned that its next electric vehicle needs to be compact and affordable — the same formula that made the Maverick a hit.
F-Series stays America's best seller
While the headlines focused on electric vehicles, Ford's traditional strength held firm. The F-Series sold 73,482 trucks in October, up 8.2% on the year, and year-to-date sales stand at 634,990. The F-Series remains America's best-selling vehicle line, a position it has held for decades, and its October growth helped offset declines elsewhere in the range.
Internal combustion vehicles as a whole grew 3.6% in October to 158,950, and now account for the overwhelming majority of Ford's sales. Year to date, Ford has sold 1,513,946 petrol and diesel vehicles, down 3.6% on last year, but still nearly 90% of everything the company sells. For all the talk of electrification, Ford in October 2026 was, more than ever, a petrol-powered truck company.
Sales fell at both the Ford and Lincoln brands in October. Lincoln, Ford's luxury division, was affected by the same forces as the wider company, including the loss of the Corsair hybrid.
A market growing without Ford
Ford's small decline stands out because the wider US market grew in October. Total US new light-vehicle sales are estimated to have risen about 4% to 1.3 million units, according to GlobalData figures cited by bestsellingcarsblog. That means Ford lost ground to the market as a whole, rather than simply riding out a weak month.
Year to date, the picture is weaker still. Ford has sold 1,690,402 vehicles in the first ten months of 2026, down 7.9% on the same period last year. The company is selling fewer vehicles than it did a year ago in almost every category except its core petrol trucks, and the gap to the wider market is widening.
Image: AI-generated illustration for Gearvoniq
Some of that decline is deliberate: winding down the Lightning, the Escape and the Corsair was a choice, made to clear the way for a leaner, more profitable line-up. But the short-term cost is real — fewer models on sale means fewer sales, and the replacements are still months away.
What happens next
The next year will be decisive for Ford. The company needs the Fathom to land at the promised sub-$30,000 price and to sell in real volume, proving that affordable electric vehicles can work in America without the federal tax credit. It also needs the extended-range Lightning to rebuild its presence in the electric pickup segment it once led.
In the meantime, the Maverick Hybrid and the F-Series are doing the work: one is the affordable, efficient truck buyers are choosing today, the other the profit engine that has sustained Ford for generations. October's figures suggest Ford's future depends less on the electric revolution it once promised and more on getting the basics right — a good truck, at the right price, with a hybrid badge.
Frequently asked questions
How many vehicles did Ford sell in October 2026?
Ford Motor Company sold 174,123 vehicles in the US in October 2026, down 0.8% year on year. Year to date, sales stand at 1,690,402, down 7.9%.
Why did Ford's EV sales fall 71% in October 2026?
Ford sold just 1,355 electric vehicles in October, down 71.2%, mainly because it wound down the F-150 Lightning and because the US federal $7,500 EV tax credit ended for vehicles acquired after 30 September 2025.
Which Ford model performed best in October 2026?
The Maverick set an October sales record with 11,466 sold, up 3.4%, and its hybrid version set a third-quarter record of 27,793. The F-Series remained America's best-selling vehicle line with 73,482 sold in October, up 8.2%.
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