Ford's latest sales report made clear how sharply its EV business has cooled: American electric vehicle deliveries plunged 80% in the third quarter, even as the company prepares a lower-cost pickup launch.
That downturn raises the importance of the Ford Fathom, which Electrek says is due in early 2027 — and pricing will start below $30,000 once delivery is included.
Here's what to know
Ford's electrified lineup in the U.S. — a category that includes hybrids and EVs — fell 41.3% to 50,355 sales in the third quarter.
Overall, the automaker sold just under 510,000 vehicles during the period, down 6.6%.
As Ford wound down the current F-150 Lightning, its EV totals fell even more sharply. The company sold 6,047 electric vehicles in the third quarter, an 80% decline from the third quarter of 2025.
Among individual models, Mustang Mach-E sales fell from more than 20,000 in the third quarter of 2025 to 5,574, and E-Transit sales slipped to 184 vans.
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The steepest drop came from the F-150 Lightning, with Ford selling just 289 in the quarter, down 97% from the same period in 2025.
The slowdown also followed the Trump Administration's end of the federal $7,500 tax credit in September, prompting buyers to rush purchases before the incentive expired.
More background
The first vehicle on Ford's "groundbreaking" Universal Electric Vehicle platform is expected to be the Fathom, which Electrek reported will arrive in early 2027.
Even after adding a $1,595 delivery fee, Ford said the standard-range Fathom would still start below $30,000 because its base price is $28,350.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Ford is aiming to sell 100,000 Fathoms in the truck's first year.
If it reaches that mark, the model could land among the country's top EV sellers alongside Tesla's Model 3 and Model Y.
What's being done?
The first Fathom prototypes are expected to emerge from Ford's 3 million square-foot Louisville Assembly Plant in 2027, a sign the company is already advancing the pickup toward production.
After Ford CEO Jim Farley raised questions about how hard the rollout could be, a company spokesperson told Electrek that the Fathom is still scheduled to launch in 2027.
Farley, who conceded he "fell in love" with EVs after being a lifelong "petrol head" earlier this year, acknowledged that challenge directly at the 2026 Automotive News Congress.
"It's going to be a heck of an effort to launch this at scale, at cost, on time," he admitted.
Where can I learn more?
Ford's push for a cheaper electric pickup fits into a broader reset of its EV strategy. These stories follow the under-$30,000 truck, the platform behind it, and the battery developments aimed at cutting costs even further.
• Ford is still pushing a $30,000 electric pickup as it tries to win back budget-minded American drivers.
• Ford says its most efficient EV platform is designed to make affordable models profitable.
• In Romulus, Michigan, Ford engineers unveiled tech that could slash battery costs for future EVs.
• Ford is betting on new batteries unlocking cheaper electric vehicles across its next-generation lineup.
