Ford Motor Company reported a 6.6% year-over-year drop in US sales for the third quarter of 2026, moving 507,395 light-duty vehicles, but the Detroit automaker still edged out Hyundai Motor to hold its No. 3 position in the American market, according to Ford’s third-quarter sales report.
Ford narrowly fends off Hyundai
The result defied forecasts that had Hyundai overtaking Ford for the first time this quarter. Ford retains a roughly 89,700-unit sales lead for the year over Hyundai through the third quarter, according to data reported this week by the companies, as CNBC reported.
Ford’s head of US sales credited the narrow win to gains in retail share even as overall deliveries slipped.
Ford estimates its third-quarter retail share increased approximately 0.4 percentage points year over year to 12.1%, excluding the planned phase out of the Escape and Corsair models, the company said in its release.
Super Duty and Maverick Hybrid set records
Ford gained retail share and delivered strong truck and large SUV results in the third quarter of 2026, led by stronger F-Series sales in September and Super Duty’s best quarterly production performance in 19 years, the automaker said.
Super Duty production reached 110,275 trucks in the quarter, up 4.4%, marking its best quarterly result in nearly two decades.
F-Series itself remains the backbone of Ford’s business. September sales for the line rose 2.4%, keeping the truck on track for a 50th consecutive year as America’s best-selling truck, according to the company’s figures.
The Maverick Hybrid, meanwhile, set a quarterly record with 27,793 units sold, up 59.6% year over year, Ford reported, making it the brand’s best-selling hybrid pickup. Bronco also posted record third-quarter and year-to-date sales, while Mustang sales climbed 7.5% for the quarter and nearly 18% through the first nine months of the year.
Ford did flag one production headwind: a short-term supplier issue affected F-150 output at the end of September, though the company said the expected financial impact is containable within its existing full-year adjusted earnings guidance.
EV sales lag as hybrids take share industrywide
Ford’s quarter mirrors a broader pattern among legacy Detroit automakers this year, as legacy EV sales slump following the expiration of the federal EV tax credit.
General Motors, Ford’s closest Detroit rival, reported a steeper 5.5% overall sales decline for the quarter to 670,974 vehicles, with its EV sales falling roughly 62% year over year, according to CNBC’s Q3 coverage.
Toyota, by contrast, leaned on its hybrid lineup to post a 0.6% sales gain to 633,223 vehicles, with electrified models accounting for 57.4% of its US volume.
That shift echoes a wider trend in which Japanese automakers’ EV footing has expanded in the US market even as pure EV demand cools.
Cox Automotive estimated total US third-quarter sales at about 4.1 million units, down roughly 1% from a year earlier, with Asian brands on track to capture more than half of new-vehicle sales for a second consecutive quarter.
Why it matters
Ford’s ability to hold off Hyundai, despite an overall sales decline, underscores how truck and hybrid strength are increasingly propping up Detroit automakers as pure EV demand softens nationally.
With Super Duty production at a 19-year quarterly high and Maverick Hybrid setting records, Ford is leaning on its commercial and hybrid truck lineup to offset weaker car and EV segments heading into the final quarter of 2026.
Software also added a bright spot for the company: active paid software subscriptions across Ford’s lineup exceeded 1.7 million through September, up more than 40% year over year, the automaker said.
