Ford’s U.S. electric vehicle sales plunged 80% during the third quarter of 2026, with the company selling just 6,047 electric vehicles as it prepares to launch the Fathom electric truck early next year.
Ford’s total sales in the U.S. market during the quarter reached approximately 510,000 vehicles, down 6.6%, while sales of electrified vehicles, including electric and hybrid vehicles, fell 41.3% to 50,355 vehicles.
Sharp Decline in Current Models
The decline coincided with Ford beginning to phase out the F-150 Lightning. The company sold only 289 units of the truck during the third quarter, down 97% from the same period in 2025.
Mustang Mach-E sales also fell 72.4% to 5,574 vehicles, compared with more than 20,000 vehicles in the third quarter of the previous year. The electric E-Transit truck recorded a 57% decline, with only 184 units sold.
The source also indicates that the Trump administration halted the $7,500 federal tax credit in September, prompting buyers to move up their purchases before the incentive expired. However, the figures do not distinguish how much of this change’s impact was separate from the effect of reducing production or phasing out some current models.
Fathom Bets on Price and a New Platform
Fathom is slated to be the first vehicle based on Ford’s Universal Electric Vehicle platform, or UEV. The standard-range version will start at $28,350 and reach less than $30,000 after adding the $1,595 delivery fee.
Prototypes will roll out of the Louisville Assembly Plant in 2027. A Ford spokesperson confirmed that the launch schedule remains in place, despite CEO Jim Farley warning that producing the vehicle at scale, at a controlled cost and on schedule, will be difficult.
What Is Changing in Practice?
Ford is placing a low-priced truck at the center of its attempt to revive its electric presence, following weak performance from its current models. According to a Wall Street Journal report, the company is targeting sales of 100,000 Fathom vehicles in its first year, a volume that could place it among the best-selling electric vehicles in the United States alongside the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y if the target is achieved.
However, this target remains a forecast attributed to a press report, not a figure Ford announced in the material. The advertised price also excludes delivery fees, and the source provided no details about driving range, the battery, charging times, or when reservations will begin—factors that will determine Fathom’s ability to turn price-driven interest into actual sales.
As a short-term measure, Ford extended its Power Promise program for the Mustang Mach-E; buyers of the 2026 model receive free home charging with standard installation or a $1,500 cash incentive.