Ford ended April 2026 with 178,667 vehicles sold in the United States, down 14% from more than 208,000 units in the same month of 2025. The result extends the American automaker’s negative streak to four consecutive months at the start of the year. To try to reverse the trend and bring customers back into showrooms, the group has decided to bring back employee pricing on most Ford and Lincoln models, while also keeping incentives for electric vehicles.
Ford brings back employee pricing after another April sales drop
Electrified vehicles suffered especially badly overall. Sales of hybrids and fully electric models fell 31% year over year. Hybrids stopped at 15,758 units, down 32%, while BEVs reached just 3,655 deliveries during the month, 25% below April 2025. The most critical figure concerns the F-150 Lightning, whose production had been suspended last December and which recorded only 884 deliveries in April, down 49%. The Mustang Mach-E also remains under pressure, with 2,670 units and a 9% decline.
The four-month balance makes the picture even clearer. From January to April, Ford’s electric sales fell 61% from the same period in 2025, with the F-150 Lightning down 67% and the Mustang Mach-E down 50%. Overall, the brand delivered just over 10,500 BEVs in the first four months of the year, including 7,270 Mustang Mach-E units and 2,944 F-150 Lightning units. To show the scale of the gap, Toyota exceeded Ford’s entire quarterly electric volume with more than 10,000 units of the bZ alone in the first quarter.
Ford’s commercial response starts with the return of employee pricing, a formula the company had already used last spring before replacing it in the summer with a zero-down, 0% interest promotion. The initiative will apply to most 2025 and 2026 Ford and Lincoln models until July 6, covering the Fourth of July weekend, traditionally one of the most important periods of the year for automotive promotions in the United States. With employee pricing applied, the 2025 Mustang Mach-E starts at $36,005 and the 2025 F-150 Lightning starts at $50,646. Purchase incentives can add up to $9,000 on the Lightning and $6,000 on the Mach-E.
On the electric side, Ford is also keeping the Power Promise program active. Launched in October 2024 and extended until July 6, 2026, it offers BEV buyers a free Level 2 home charger, 24-hour phone support and proactive roadside assistance.
While the group works to make its current generation of EVs more competitive and speed up inventory movement, attention is already shifting to the next phase of its battery-electric strategy. Ford is developing the Universal EV platform, designed for smaller models with much lower production costs. Its first derivative should be a midsize electric pickup expected between 2027 and 2028, with a starting price around $30,000. Ford has shown the first sketches of the model in recent hours. With this new generation of vehicles, the company aims to reposition its electric lineup in a broader market segment than it has reached so far.
