Ford and GM sales are now approaching 2019 highs

Ford Motor Co. (F+2.95%) and General Motors (GM+0.92%) are inching back to their pre-pandemic heights, with both automakers reporting their strongest annual sales since 2019.

GM said on Friday that it had delivered 2.7 million vehicles to customers in 2024, growing its overall sales by 4%. Its top brands — Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC, and Buick — recorded their best performances in years, according to the Detroit automaker. In 2019, GM sold 2.88 million vehicles.

As for Ford, the company said it grew sales by 6% to 2.08 million units, up from almost 2 million in 2023, but below the 2.42 million vehicles it sold in 2019. The company noted that its Lincoln brand had its best sales in 17 years, led by the new Nautilus and 2025 Aviator SUVs.

Electric vehicles and hybrids were a big part of the gains. Although the automakers plan to continue making gasoline-powered cars in the near-future, they’re also focused on developing cleaner vehicles.

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GM’s EV sales climbed 50% in the last quarter and 125% in 2024 overall, making it the No.2 seller of EVs for the second half of the year, according to the company. Chevrolet’s Equinox and Cadillac’s Lyriq were especially popular, GM said.

“The driving force for our business is new vehicles with great design and performance across our portfolio, […]” Rory Harvey, GM’s president of global markets, said in a statement. “We’re carrying significant momentum into 2025.”

Ford said it sold 285,291 “electrified vehicles,” including hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and fully electric cars, in 2024, marking a 38% increase compared to 2023. Ford sold 51,745 units of the Mustang Mach-E and 33,510 units of the F-150 Lightning, which notched respective year-over-year increases of 27% and 39%.

Like several other companies, including Hyundai Motor Co. (HYMTF-1.92%), Ford has embraced both hybrids and fully electric cars, arguing that not every driver is ready for a vehicle powered only by electricity. In August, Ford even delayed some EV plans to work on hybrid options. Ford sold 187,426 hybrids last year, up 40% from 2023, helped by strong demand for the hybrid F-150 and Maverick trucks.

On Friday, Ford also said it would continue giving out free home chargers through March. The program can help lessen the up-front cost of going electric.

Several other automakers reported strong EV sales for the fourth quarter and 2024 overall, with China’s BYD (BYDDY+0.96%), Nio (NIO+2.42%), and Xpeng (XPEV+1.69%) all notching double-digit increases. Hyundai brands also saw some gains thanks to its push for hybrids and EVs, while Rivian (RIVN+25.02%) met its delivery targets. Elon Musk’s Tesla (TSLA+8.10%) disappointed Wall Street by missing its targets.