Ford Motor Co.'s U.S. sales fell almost 1% year-over-year in November as an aluminum shortage affected F-Series production and electric vehicle sales plummeted 61% without the federal plug-in vehicle tax credit.

Total sales declined 0.9% to 164,925 vehicles for the month. Dealer services provider Cox Automotive Inc. forecasted U.S. sales for the industry would fall to 1.27 million in November, down 7.8% from last year. Two fewer selling days, the end of the federal EV tax credit and higher vehicle prices from tariffs affected the total.

Sales of F-Series pickups, the country's best-selling trucks and the Dearborn automaker's profit engine, fell 9.6%. Multiple fires at an aluminum sheet plant in New York over the past seven weeks halted electric F-150 Lightning production and disrupted Super Duty and F-150 volumes.

Ford expects to make up some of the lost production next year with an added shift at Dearborn Truck Plant and additional workers at Kentucky Truck plant. It's not clear when F-150 Lightning manufacturing will resume, and reports have suggested Ford is considering ending the program. The company plans to launch in 2028 a next-generation electric full-size pickup at its new BlueOval City plant in Tennessee.

The decision to suspend Lightning production came after the end of the federal tax credit. That's part of a campaign by the administration of President Donald Trump to dismantle what he has termed an "EV mandate" on consumers. It comes alongside efforts to revoke California's waiver to set its own tailpipe emissions standards that other state can adopt and to roll back federal emissions requirements.

Despite the EV drop, consumers did embrace some form of electrification: Hybrids were up 14%, being a more flexible option for buyers with EV range anxiety. Gas- and diesel-powered vehicles were up 2.2%, as dealers look to sell off 2025 model-year cars, trucks and SUVs.

Total truck sales were flat, while SUV deliveries declined 4.9% with the electric Mustang Mach-E down 49%. The Mustang coupe rose 79%. The Lincoln luxury brand declined 12%.

For SUVs, Expedition, whose production also was hit by the Novelis Inc. aluminum plant fires, was down 8.8%. Escape fell 32% ahead of the end of its production for retooling at Louisville Assembly Plant for an electric midsize truck built on the next-generation Universal EV Platform and Production System. Explorer grew 42%. Bronco was up 7%, but Bronco Sport fell 4.1%.

F-150 Lightning sales declined 72%. Ranger midsize truck grew 36%. Maverick small pickup was up 43%. Transit commercial van rose 17%, while the E-Transit fell 82%. General Motors Co. said last month it was ending production of its Chevrolet BrightDrop electric vans built in Canada.

At Lincoln, Navigator and Aviator rose 2.8% and 2.3%, respectively. Nautilus fell 30% and Corsair, which is ending production alongside the Escape, declined 12%.

Elsewhere, Kia Corp.'s U.S. sales rose 3% in November. Hyundai Motor Co.'s were down 2%. GM and Stellantis NV don't report monthly sales. The Detroit Three will report fourth-quarter and full-year U.S. sales after the new year.

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