Ford U.S. sales in August drop 33.1 pct

Ford Motor Co. announced on its Website on Thursday that it sold 124,176 vehicles in August this year, down 33.1 percent year on year, as a result of chip shortage, Xinhua reports.
To be specific, the U.S. automaker sold 73,610 trucks, 48,197 SUVs and 2,369 cars in August, down 29.4 percent, 25.3 percent and 86 percent, respectively.
Ford's electrified vehicle sales in August were 8,756 units, up 67.3 percent and a new August sales record. Ford's fully electric F-150 Lightning reservations have crossed the 130,000 mark.
The average transaction price of the Dearborn-based automaker hit a new record of approximately 50,800 U.S. dollars per vehicle, a 9,700-dollar increase over last year.
Nevertheless, based on production data reported by the company, Ford's output improved, with output of Ford North American plants increasing from 125,736 vehicles in July to 226,065 in August, The Detroit News reported. And the automaker's gross vehicle stock stood at 214,500 at the end of the month.
Ford is not the sole automaker that reported sales slump in the United States in August. American Honda sales went down 15.6 percent year over year; Toyota Motor North America sales fell 2 percent; and Hyundai Motor America sales were off 4 percent.
Market analysts expect the chip shortage conditions to persist and last into 2022, the local newspaper reported.