A
Ford
Mustang
Mach-E
GT
compact
sports
utility
vehicle
during
the
2022
New
York
International
Auto
Show
in
New
York
on
April
14,
2022.
Michael
Nagle
|
Bloomberg
|
Getty
Images
DETROIT
—
Ford
Motor
is
rethinking
its
electric
vehicle
strategies,
including
“reassessing”
the
need
for
vertical
integration
of
batteries,
CEO
Jim
Farley
said
Tuesday.
The
Detroit
automaker
previously
confirmed
plans
to
delay
or
cut
$12
billion
in
spending
on
all-electric
vehicles,
but
the
comments
made
Tuesday
are
the
most
detailed
about
Ford’s
changing
plans
for
EVs,
sales
of
which
are
growing
at
a
slower-than-expected
rate.
“One
of
the
things
we’re
taking
advantage
of
in
taking
some
timing
delays
is
rationalizing
the
level
and
timing
of
our
battery
capacity
to
match
demand
and
actually
reassessing
the
vertical
integration
that
we’re
relying
on,
and
betting
on
new
chemistries
and
capacities,”
Farley
said
during
the
automaker’s
fourth-quarter
earnings
call.
Farley
reiterated
the
company
still
believes
EVs
will
grow,
but
noted
widespread
adoption
for
mass-market
consumers
won’t
happen
until
the
costs
are
more
in
line
with
traditional
vehicles.
EVs
are
typically
thousands
of
dollars
more
expensive
than
their
gas-powered
counterparts.
Ford
Chief
Financial
Officer
John
Lawler
said
in
addition
to
reassessing
the
vertical
integration
in
new
battery
chemistries,
the
company
is
further
looking
into
adjusting
installed
production
capacity
to
match
demand
and
potentially
delaying
next-generation
EVs
to
“to
ensure
they
meet
our
criteria
for
profitability,
given
the
new
market
reality.”
The
company’s
EV
business,
known
as
Model
e,
lost
$4.7
billion
last
year,
including
$1.57
billion
during
the
fourth
quarter
of
2023,
offset
by
profits
in
the
company’s
fleet
and
traditional
internal
combustion
engine
units. Both
businesses
earned
more
than
$7
billion
each
last
year.
Lawler
said
Tuesday
that
the
unit
will
have
to
stand
on
its
own
“sooner
rather
than
later.”
He
also
said
the
company
is
pulling
a
target
for
its
EV
unit
that
called
for
8%
margin
by
2026.
The
company
had
already
set
a
target
of two
million
vehicles
sold
annually
by
that
time.
As
Ford
pulls
back
and
reevaluates
the
EV
business,
it
intends
to
lean
in
on
sales
of
hybrid
vehicles,
specifically
trucks.
The
company
expects
its
hybrid
sales
to
increase
40%
this
year.
It
sold
133,743
hybrid
vehicles
in
the
U.S.
in
2023.
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