There Could Be a Chink in the Ford F-150's Armor

Brandon Moore
· 3 min read
The
Ford F-150
is a widely popular vehicle, having dominated the sales charts for over four decades.
However,
Ford
's signature truck has recently dropped from its top spot as of Q2. Read on to find out how this happened, and how it may affect the vehicle in the future.

Ford F-150's dominant sales numbers

Ford F-150s recently had a dip in their performance
According to
CNN
, the first model in the F-1 series was the 1948 F-1 pickup, which was its first vehicle post-World War II. It has historic popularity in suburban regions, which 13.8% of Americans lived in at the time, a number that grew to be 50% in 2010. The trucks were popular among those who needed a second vehicle, as they were large and great for hauling things from the store when needed.
Ever since then, the Ford F-150 has dominated sales charts. It's been the #1 pickup truck for 43 years in America, according to
Kelley Blue Book
. In addition, it's also the best-selling vehicle of all time.
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Issues contributing to the lower sales numbers

With such an incredible history and numbers, what happened to cause the lower sales in Q2? The main issue is due to a global microchip shortage. This has affected the auto industry universally this year.
According to
CNBC News
, companies have had to "shut down factories, lay off workers, and slash vehicle production." Microchips are a vital part of vehicles and can control key safety features and more.
Unfortunately for these companies, Chief Financial Officer Richard Palmer has stated that the shortage may bleed into 2022.
The lack of microchips hit Ford especially hard, and it means that many of their beloved F-150s can't be completed. While they have no shortage of demand, the lacking supply has led customers to look elsewhere.
Currently, this puts the truck in third place behind Ram 1500s and Chevrolet Silverados. Companies like GM have kept production up in spite of the shortage, and
removing certain features
has helped them to accomplish this. However, Ford hasn't done this with their trucks as of late.

What's next for the Ford F-150?

While these numbers don't look great for the Ford F-150, all is not lost. Its sales remained steady throughout the first half of 2021, indicating that it may return to the top of the charts once more.
They have also sought
solutions to the microchip shortage
issue, including getting a new supplier. Erin Merkle, a sales analyst at Ford, assures that the inventory will improve later this year.
They have also introduced the
F-150 Lightning
, an electric version of the F-150. Ford has already gotten over 100,000 reservations. While the reservations do not count as concrete sales data, it may indicate that the innovation could boost the F-150 once more. The EV will be released in Fall of this year.
However, what will happen remains to be seen. It is entirely possible that the slipping sales of the F-150 could lead another company to top the charts once more. Whatever the case, it does reveal that beating the F-150 isn't out of the question.

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