Dearborn desperately hoped that the worst of the 2026 market correction was already priced into their first-quarter earnings, but it wasn’t. According to the latest April 2026 data, Ford is staring down a widening rift within its portfolio. The gas-burning Mustang is currently amongst the very few models that Ford sells in the US, which is showing growth for the business, while its ambitious EV and high-tech plays are hitting a massive wall.
Ford
Mustang Muscle
Group sales for Ford and Lincoln combined plummeted 14.4 percent in April, dragging an already difficult year further into the red. While niche wins like the Bronco
(up 18.6 percent), and the Transit van (up 22 percent) provide some cover, the core pillars of Ford’s “Model e” future are looking shaky.
The internal combustion Mustang continues to almost singlehandedly keep the lights on in Dearborn. While the rest of the automaker’s portfolio stalls out, the traditional pony car surged an impressive 18.4 percent in April, moving 5,830 units. Zoom out, and the trajectory is even more aggressive. Year-to-date, gas Mustang sales have skyrocketed 39.2 percent, totaling nearly 20,000 deliveries through the end of the month. However, while the gas Mustang thrives, its electric namesake, the Mustang Mach-E, is having a year to forget. Deliveries of the electric crossover have collapsed by 50 percent year-to-date, moving just 7,270 units compared to over 14,000 during the same period last year.
Ford
Electrifying Errors
This isn’t just a Mach-E problem; it’s an electrification problem across the board for Ford. Total sales for electrified vehicles—a category that includes both pure EVs and hybrids—fell by 31.1 percent in April. Even the usually reliable internal combustion SUVs and trucks weren’t immune, with truck sales sliding 12.1 percent and SUVs dropping 10.9 percent for the year. Due to supply chain fractures, the F-Series recorded a 14.7 percent drop in April, a direct casualty of the ongoing aluminum bottlenecks triggered by the 2025 Novelis plant fire. Over at the luxury arm, Lincoln is in freefall, with the freshly redesigned Navigator suffering a catastrophic 41.7 percent sales collapse.
Supply chain woes aside, American consumers still seem to want a fire-breathing Ford Mustang; electric powertrains don’t seem to blend well with the Blue Oval in the minds of consumers. The Mustang continues to be the attainable halo car that Ford needs to navigate these rough EV waters, and if Ford intends to comfortably survive this 2026 sales slump, they need to start listening to the math.
