Ford’s October Shock Shows What Happens When $7,500 EV Credits Disappear

October is shaping up to be one of the most closely scrutinized months the car industry has seen in some time. With federal EV tax credits expiring on September 31, automakers are watching closely to see how buyers behave now that the incentive has vanished.

The change followed President Trump’s decision to end the $7,500 credit for EV purchases, sparking a brief third-quarter rush as shoppers hurried to close deals before the cutoff.

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For Ford, October delivered a mixed picture. Overall sales crept up 1.6 percent, but electric models took a sharp hit, dropping nearly 25 percent to 4,709 vehicles compared with 6,264 a year earlier.

Post-Tax Credit Reality

Taking a closer look at the sales numbers, the Mustang Mach-E slid 12.3 percent to 2,906 units, though it remains up more than 15 percent for the year at 44,868 units. The F-150 Lightning, whose production remains “indefinitely” paused while Ford reassesses demand, fell 17.2 percent from 1,863 to 1,543 sales in October.

Meanwhile, the all-electric E-Transit cargo van faced the steepest fall, plunging 76 percent year-over-year to just 260 units in October.

Hybrid Hiccup

Hybrid sales softened slightly, down 4 percent from last October at 17,498 sales, though year-to-date figures remain up nearly 20 percent. Among gas and hybrid models, several standouts helped keep Ford’s overall numbers positive.

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The Bronco climbed 14.4 percent to 11,250 units, while the Ranger pickup jumped an impressive 48 percent to 7,741 deliveries. The Explorer and Expedition both notched modest single-digit gains, balancing out losses from the discontinued Edge and the lower-volume Escape (-16.4%).

Equally notable was the gas-powered Mustang, which jumped 43 percent last month from 2,688 units to 3,845 deliveries, finally outselling its electric sibling after months of lagging behind.

Still, since the start of the year, sales of the traditional muscle car are down 6.4 percent to 36,663 units, even without having any competition, at least until Dodge’s Charger Sixpack joints the chat.

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Ford’s overall brand sales rose 2.5 percent to 167,484 vehicles, led by truck demand. F-Series deliveries edged up 0.7 percent to 67,930 units, and the Maverick continued its steady momentum with a 2 percent rise to 11,086 sales.

Lincoln Had A Bad Month

Lincoln, meanwhile, had a rough month. Total sales dropped 13.4 percent to 8,100 vehicles, despite a strong performance from the Navigator, which rose 37.6 percent year-over-year from 1,180 to 1,624 deliveries. Every other Lincoln model recorded a double-digit slump.

Even so, the Lincoln brand’s year-to-date figures remain slightly positive, with total sales up 3.6 percent at 83,879 units.