Ford Motor Company sold 509,764 vehicles in the United States in the third quarter of 2026, down 6.6% from a year earlier, according to the company. Ford said F-Series trucks extended their lead over Chevrolet Silverado by more than 140,000 units through September.

The Dearborn automaker's quarterly sales report, published Friday, Oct. 2, said F-Series remained on track for a 50th consecutive year as America's best-selling truck. Through September, F-Series sales totaled 561,508 trucks. September sales alone rose 2.4% to 67,448 trucks.

Truck production and Dearborn expansion plans

F-Series production rose 4.5% to 266,777 trucks in the quarter. Super Duty accounted for 110,275 of those, up 4.4% and the line's best quarterly production in 19 years, Ford reported.

Ford previously announced in October 2025 plans to add a third crew of 1,200 workers at the Dearborn Truck Plant inside the Rouge Complex. The crew would include transferred employees and new hires. The plan also called for adding 90 employees at Dearborn Stamping Plant and 80 at Dearborn Diversified Manufacturing Plant. Ford targeted more than 45,000 additional gas and hybrid F-150 trucks at Dearborn Truck Plant in 2026.

A short-term supplier issue unrelated to aluminum affected F-150 production at the end of September. Ford said the expected financial impact could be contained within its full-year 2026 adjusted EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) guidance of $10 billion to $11 billion, issued July 28.

Overall sales dip on planned phase-outs

Ford attributed the overall sales decline to the planned phase-out of its Escape and Corsair models. Excluding those two vehicles, the company estimated its third-quarter retail share grew approximately 0.4 percentage points year over year to 12.1%.

"Customers continue to choose our trucks, SUVs and performance vehicles, with F-Series, Bronco and our hybrid truck lineup posting standout results," Andrew Frick, president of Ford Blue and Model e, said in the report.

Maverick Hybrid sets record

Maverick Hybrid sales jumped 59.6% to a quarterly record of 27,793 pickups. Year-to-date sales reached 74,300, also a record. Ford describes the Maverick Hybrid as America's best-selling hybrid pickup.

Bronco posted a third-quarter record of 38,020 SUVs and a year-to-date record of 114,956. Mustang sales climbed 7.5% in the quarter and 17.9% through September.

Explorer, software subscriptions climb

Explorer sales grew 17.6% through September to 189,210 SUVs, according to the report. Combined Explorer and Expedition sales hit 249,481 three-row SUVs through September, which Ford said made it the top-selling brand in the large three-row SUV segment ahead of Chevrolet and Toyota.

Ford's off-road performance vehicles, including Bronco, Raptor, Tremor and FX4 packages, accounted for 24% of the company's sales through September. That share rose 3.8 percentage points from a year ago.

Ford reported that active paid software subscriptions topped 1.7 million through September, a jump of more than 40% year over year. Ford and Lincoln customers have logged nearly 14 million cumulative hours of hands-free highway driving with BlueCruise, the company's driver-assist system.

Ford said it holds a 41% share of the Class 1-7 commercial truck and van segment based on its analysis of registration data through July, maintaining its position as the top U.S. commercial vehicle brand.