Is the Ford Explorer Still a Cornerstone of Ford's US Lineup?

Ford Motor Company’s F Explorer SUV has long been a favorite among U.S. consumers and drivers worldwide, paving the way for road-oriented SUVs when such vehicles were still uncommon. Over the years, it has remained one of the top models in its segment, and given its long production run, countless Explorers are still in use today. Per Ford Authority, during the second quarter of 2025, the Explorer ranked among the most common vehicles on American roads.

Per Experian’s second-quarter 2025 State of the Automotive Finance Market Report, the Ford Explorer was the 10th most prevalent vehicle in the United States, representing 1.2% of all vehicles. Ford Escape and a few other models also account for the same percentage of sales. As usual, the Ford F-150 led the rankings at 3.7%, followed by the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 (2.7%), Toyota Camry (2.3%), Honda Accord (2.0%) and Honda CR-V (2.0%), rounding out the top five.

Ford also held the top spot among automotive brands on U.S. roads in the latest quarter, accounting for 14.6% of the total. Chevrolet came second at 13.3%, followed by Toyota (13%), Honda (8.5%) and Nissan (5.8%), completing the top five.

At the manufacturer level, Ford ranked second overall, representing 15.6% of all vehicles on U.S. roads. Ford has led this list multiple times before, including the third quarter of 2024 and the end of 2023, when it accounted for 14.7% and remains one of the most dominant automakers in the country. F carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. 

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Market Share of Ford’s Rivals

In the first nine months of 2025, General Motors Company GM sold 2.2 million vehicles in the United States, up 10% from the previous year. General Motors’ market share rose to 17.2%, its highest level since 2015. General Motors also achieved record crossover and SUV sales in the third quarter, with models like the GMC Terrain, Chevrolet Equinox, Chevrolet Traverse, and Buick Envista all posting their best-ever third-quarter results.

Per CNBC, Tesla, Inc. TSLA maintained its lead in the U.S. electric vehicle market with an estimated 43.1% share as of September. However, that’s a decline from 49% at the end of last year as more automakers introduced new EV models. Tesla delivered 497,099 units in the third quarter, up from 462,890 units in the third quarter of 2024.

F’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates  

Ford has outperformed the Zacks Automotive-Domestic industry year to date. Its shares have gained 20.4% compared with the industry’s growth of 13%. 

 
From a valuation perspective, F appears undervalued. Going by its price/sales ratio, the company is trading at a forward sales multiple of 0.29, lower than the industry’s 3.48. 

 
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for F’s 2025 and 2026 EPS has moved up a penny and 5 cents, respectively, in the past 60 days. 

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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