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Ford’s electric vehicle business in America has gone from cooling to freefall. The company’s July 2026 US sales report shows just 2,065 EVs sold for the month — down 74.9% from a year ago — and the model-by-model numbers are even harsher than the headline.

The July Scorecard

The Mustang Mach-E, long Ford’s best-selling EV, managed 1,863 units in July, a 64.9% year-over-year drop. Through seven months of 2026 it sits at 13,495 units — down 50.2% from the 27,093 it moved over the same stretch of 2025. A model that once traded blows with the Tesla Model Y for headlines has lost half its volume in a year.

The F-150 Lightning’s story is closer to an ending. Ford sold 141 electric pickups in July, down 95% year over year, with year-to-date sales of 4,622 against 15,860 a year ago — a 70.9% decline. The number is less a demand signal than an inventory countdown: Lightning production ended in December 2025, and dealers are now selling down what’s left. The E-Transit electric van added just 61 units, down 32.2%, with year-to-date volume off 87% at 554 units.

“By Design,” Says Ford

The EV slump landed inside a broader down month: total Ford sales fell about 10% in July to 169,951 units, with hybrids down 25.1% and internal-combustion models off 5.2%. Ford’s sales leadership framed the decline as intentional, pointing to the planned sunsetting of the Escape and Lincoln Corsair and a 96% reduction in low-margin daily rental fleet business as the company redirects resources toward upcoming launches.

That explanation covers the gas side of the ledger better than the electric one. The Mach-E hasn’t been discontinued, and its 50% year-to-date slide tracks with a US EV market that turned sharply tougher after federal purchase incentives disappeared — a headwind hitting legacy automakers far harder than it hit Tesla, and one that has Hyundai and Kia nursing similar double-digit EV declines even amid record overall sales months.

Waiting on the Next Generation

Ford’s official posture is that this is the painful gap between EV generations. The first-generation lineup — Mach-E, Lightning, E-Transit — was engineered when EVs commanded premium prices and federal credits padded the math. The company has pointed to a next wave of lower-cost electric models, headlined by an affordable electric pickup targeted for 2027, designed to make money without subsidies. Until that arrives, Ford has little in the showroom to defend its EV share with.

What It Means

Ford’s 18,671 EVs year-to-date — down 60.5% — would be a rounding error for BYD and barely a strong month for Tesla. The Detroit playbook for this phase of the transition is now unmistakable: retreat from money-losing first-generation EVs, lean on profitable trucks and hybrids, and bet the electric future on cheaper second-generation platforms still a model year away. The risk is what happens in the meantime. Charging networks are racing ahead, Chinese automakers are scaling globally, and every month of retrenchment cedes mindshare in a segment that punishes absence. Ford is betting it can leave the EV market’s front lines in 2026 and fight its way back in 2027. July’s numbers show just how far back it will be starting from.

Sources: Ford Authority, Carscoops