Ford Motor on Monday (Mar 4) reported a 10.5 per cent rise in US sales for February, helped by sustained demand for family crossover SUVs, pickup trucks and hybrid vehicles.

Sales of Ford’s hybrid vehicles, which include electrified variants of its popular Maverick compact truck and Escape crossover, rose 32 per cent to 12,045 units from a year ago. Sales of its SUVs were up about 22 per cent to 76,403 units.

“Hybrid vehicles continue to be a growth segment for Ford and sales have grown at a faster rate than the overall US industry for much of the last year,” it said.

Like other legacy automakers, Ford plans to shift its focus to high-margin hybrid and gas-powered vehicles amid early signs of cooling demand for electric vehicles.

Over the past few months, Ford has cut prices for its Mach E, and reduced production at its Michigan Rouge Electric Vehicle Center to one shift starting April 1.

The Detroit automaker’s overall sales rose to 174,192 units, from about 157,606 units a year ago. REUTERS

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