After GM revealed that trucks and SUVs helped it remain America’s top automaker at the end of the first half of 2026, Ford also wants a share of the limelight, announcing that the F-Series is still America’s best-selling truck, and the Silverado isn’t even close. Like GM, big SUVs and pickups are key to Ford’s success, with sales of the Bronco, Explorer, and Expedition cumulatively accounting for a 10.1 percent increase in sales, the best first-half figures for the profitable SUVs in 25 years. The Bronco alone gave Ford reason to brag, setting first-half and second-quarter records (76,936 units in H1 and 45,739 units in Q2 alone) and outselling its Jeep Wrangler nemesis in Q2. But that’s not the end of the highlight reel for Dearborn as we enter the second half of 2026.
Ford’s 2026 Q2 Sales Are Impressive on All Fronts
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Overall, Ford estimates that its June retail market share grew by 0.2 percentage points to 12.3 percent, and it places the glory for that achievement at the feet (wheels?) of its large SUVs and F-Series trucks. In the first half of the year, the F-Series sold 357,801 units, which Ford proudly proclaims is better than the second-place Chevy Silverado, and it could have been an even stronger seller were it not for a retiming of commercial production due to last year’s shortage of aluminum. There was also a production stoppage this year due to a broken hood die, so sales should improve in the second half of the year. Without these high-margin products, things would look very different because total second-quarter sales fell 10 percent to 549,200 vehicles, thanks to popular Escape and Lincoln Corsair models being phased out and a 69% drop in daily rental sales, but Ford isn’t worried and says sales would have actually risen 0.5 percent without model transitions and if rental volumes stayed flat.
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Altogether, Ford sold 1,006,515 vehicles in the first half of 2026, 576,288 of which were trucks and vans. The Maverick became the best-selling hybrid pickup in the country, setting a Q2 record of 29,457 units, up 19.3 percent. The Explorer was the best-selling three-row SUV, moving 126,925 units through June, and the Transit was the best-selling van, with 78,925 units. Ford also said paid subscriptions for Ford Pro software rose roughly 20 percent in the first half, exceeding 900,000, while BlueCruise hands-free highway driving miles exceeded 12 million cumulative hours.
Where to Next for Ford
Ford
The Louisville Assembly Plant, where the Escape and Corsair were built, is now being retooled to build an all-new, affordable four-door electric pickup on the Universal Electric Vehicle platform in 2027. This new platform is likely to underpin a new Mustang sedan that could appeal to both American and European buyers. Speaking of the latter, a new Fiesta and Focus may happen. But all those products are some way off, and it doesn’t look like Ford is struggling to find buyers with its existing products.
