It's no secret that the 2020 Ford Explorer has had a troubled launch. Quality control issues have plagued the SUV, preventing them from being delivered to dealerships on time. It should come as no surprise, then, that sales of the 2020 Explorer are down significantly.

According to Bloomberg, sales of the 2020 Explorer have dropped by as much as 48 percent in the third quarter, which is not good news for such a pivotal profit-making model. However, the situation is slowly improving.

Speaking with Bloomberg, US sales chief Mark LaNeve admitted that dealers were short of Explorer inventory this summer but assured the situation will be rectified for Q4. "We've got adequate inventory in our stores," LaNeve said. "For Q4, availability won't be an issue. We'll be able to hit our stride with Explorer starting now."

Ford added that the high-performance Explorer ST, which packs a 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 producing 400 hp and 415 lb-ft of torque, is proving to be popular, making up one-third of the initial sales of the redesigned model. Sales of the ST versions of the Edge and Explorer SUVs rose 26 percent in the third quarter, according to LaNeve.

"Customers want the functionality of an SUV, but they want to maintain the ride and handling and some of the performance characteristics they had in their sedans," LaNeve said. "In the new Explorer ST, you feel low and tight to the road and it corners exceptionally well."

Last month, a report claimed that thousands of new Ford Explorers and Lincoln Aviators were shipped by truck from its Chicago factory to its Flat Rock plant near Detroit where workers have been frantically fixing numerous issues, including chassis issues, transmissions failing to go into park or properly sensing the SUV is in park, and air conditioning systems that only blow hot air.