Ford vehicles are seen on the sales lot at the Helfman Ford dealership on October 28, 2021 in Houston, Texas.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images
DETROIT – Ford Motor’s sales last year declined 6.8% compared to 2020, but the automaker said it made strides toward the end of the year in overcoming disruptions caused by an ongoing semiconductor chip shortage.
The Detroit automaker on Wednesday said it sold 508,451 vehicles in the fourth quarter, a 26.8% increase over the third quarter and better than the overall industry’s decline of about 3% from the previous three months.
Ford ended the year with 247,000 vehicles in stock, up 22,000 units from November after the chip shortage caused historically low inventory levels earlier in the year.
Overall, the U.S. automotive industry sold 15.1 million vehicles in 2021 despite major supply chain disruptions and lingering impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, according to industry data company Autodata. It was the slowest sales year since 2012.
Ford sold 1.9 million vehicles in 2021, down 6.8% compared with the prior year. That maintained its third-place U.S. sales position behind General Motors and Toyota Motor, which dethroned GM in U.S. sales after a 90-year run as the No. 1 American automaker.
