Detroit — Ford Motor managed to maintain its third-place position in U.S. sales in the third quarter by a narrow margin, ahead of Hyundai Motor, which was previously predicted to overtake this Detroit-based automaker.

Ford announced on Friday that sales of light vehicles in the United States in the third quarter decreased by 6.6% year-on-year to 507,395 units. This figure does not include its largest heavy trucks, as these vehicle categories are classified differently.

In contrast, South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Group – which includes brands such as Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis – saw a 5.4% increase in sales in the third quarter, reaching 506,200 units.

Both companies performed better than expected. Cox Automotive Last week's forecast stated that Hyundai would surpass Ford for the first time in quarterly sales.

Hyundai Motor Group continued to expand its market share in the United States this year, including its luxury brand Genesis as well as Kia, which also belongs to the group. Meanwhile, Ford still faces challenges in the production of key F-Series pickups, as two supplier fires last year disrupted production and sales.

According to the data released by both companies this week, as of the third quarter, Ford still leads Hyundai by about 89,700 vehicles in annual sales.

Ford downplayed Hyundai's approaching sales on Friday, stating that although both are part of the same corporate parent company, Kia and Hyundai brands operate separately in the United States.

In addition to the production issues with F-Series, Ford's year-on-year sales volume was also affected by the discontinuation of models such as Ford Escape.

Ford's U.S. sales head, Rob Kaffl, stated on Friday that the sales and inventory conditions for F-Series pickups – including F-150 – continued to improve this quarter.

"Some of the obstacles we faced at the beginning of the year have now basically passed, which really puts us in a very strong position as we enter the fourth quarter," Kaffl said at a media conference call.

In the third quarter, F-Series sales only decreased by 1.9%, while the sales of the discontinued F-150 and Lightning electric pickups plummeted by 97.1%.

Ford, a Detroit-based automaker, saw its sales decline by about 6% this quarter, while its luxury brand Lincoln saw a 18% drop.

As of September, Ford's electric vehicle sales decreased by 67.5% year-on-year, with a decline of about 80% in the third quarter. In this category, Ford also faces a relatively high base from the same period last year, as consumers rushed to purchase electric vehicles before the Trump administration's federal purchase subsidy of up to $7,500 ended.