Rivian Just Outsold Ford In EVs By 40%
- Ford’s EV sales nosedived 70% in the first quarter.
- At the same time, Rivian managed a 20% increase in deliveries.
- The severe contrast allowed the California startup to overtake Ford in EV sales by a big margin.
Rivian sold more electric cars in this year’s first quarter than Ford, signaling that the once-small California startup is in it for the long run, while traditional automakers are rethinking their EV strategies.
From January through March, Rivian delivered 10,365 electric vehicles, marking a 20% year-over-year increase at a time when the entire American car industry is having a rough time.
The R2 is Rivian’s most affordable model, with deliveries scheduled to begin soon.
Photo by: Patrick George
The shift couldn’t be more evident when looking at Ford’s sales figures. Overall, the American car giant slid 9.2% in the first quarter, while its EVs declined 69.6%, going from 22,550 units last year to just 6,860 this year. In other words, Rivian’s EVs outsold Ford’s by 40.7%.
Rivian currently sells the R1S SUV, the R1T pickup truck, and the Commercial Van (RCV), and it’s gearing up for the first deliveries of the smaller and more affordable R2. The company does not publish individual sales numbers for each model.
In Ford’s backyard, meanwhile, it was a bloodbath. Sales of the discontinued F-150 Lightning, which was America’s best-selling electric pickup truck, declined 71.3%, going from 7,187 in 2025 to 2,060 this year. The Mustang Mach-E crossover sold 4,600 units, down 60.4% year-over-year. The E-Transit van took the biggest hit, selling just 200 units from January through March, a 94.7% decrease from last year, when 3,756 models were sold.
The Mustang Mach-E was Ford’s best-selling EV in Q1 2026, with 4,600 sales.
Photo by: Ford
Rivian, which is positioned as a luxury car brand, also sold more EVs in the United States than Hyundai, which moved a little over 5,500 battery-powered cars in the first quarter (excluding the Kona EV). Rivian surpassed Cadillac’s EVs, too, with GM’s luxury nameplate topping 9,500 sales in Q1, a 20% increase over last year.
Things are looking good for Rivian. The company recently unlocked an additional $2 billion in investments from Uber and the Volkswagen Group, and is working to bring the mid-sized R2 SUV to its stores across the United States. In the near future, the California startup will expand its footprint, with the R2 expected to land in Europe and Asia after it hits American streets.
All this being said, Ford hasn’t backed out of the EV game completely. Even though the F-150 Lightning has been discontinued and the E-Transit’s successor has been canceled, the American auto giant is planning several new affordable electric cars based on a brand-new modular architecture that can accommodate several bodies, including a mid-size pickup and a crossover.
