Ford can't 'walk away' from EVs if it wants to thrive, says its CEO

By William Gavin

Despite losing billions of dollars on EVs each year, Ford vows to move forward - armed with new knowledge of consumer preferences and the competitive scene

Ford has reportedly considered scrapping the F-150 Lightning electric pickup.

Ford's electric-vehicle division is losing billions of dollars, and the company is reportedly considering scrapping a key product. But the Detroit automaker needs EVs in order to be successful, according to its chief executive.

"We can't walk away from EVs - not just for the U.S., but if we want to be a global company. I'm not going to just cede that to the Chinese," Ford (F) CEO Jim Farley said in an interview with the "Office Hours: Business Edition" podcast that was posted on Wednesday.

Farley has been outspoken about the threat that Chinese EV companies pose to U.S. and European automakers, warning in June that their cars are "far superior." Major Chinese EV makers, such as BYD Co. Ltd. (BYDDY) (HK:1211) (CN:002594), offer a variety of relatively cheap, technology-laden electric cars, and have begun aggressively expanding overseas.

Farley said in the interview that he was "very humbled" when his company tore down Tesla Inc.'s (TSLA) Model 3 and EVs made by Chinese companies. That showed him that Ford's technology was behind its rivals. For example, Ford's Mustang Mach-E had a wiring loom that was much longer and 70 pounds heavier than what was in Tesla's sedan.

In 2022, Ford split its EV business into a separate division named Model-E. The automaker took a loss of just over $5 billion on its EV division last year, and is expected to report a similar loss in 2025, according to FactSet estimates.

"I knew it was going to be brutal businesswise," Farley said, adding that he thought it was important to enable investors to hold Ford accountable.

The automaker plans to turn things around by developing more affordable EVs based on a new vehicle architecture. Its first vehicle based on the new platform is expected to be a roughly $30,000 midsize truck up for sale in 2027.

That's a big change from Ford's current EV lineup. The F-150 Lightning pickup starts at $54,780 for the base model and $85,000 for the priciest trim, while the Mustang Mach-E SUV's starting price varies between $38,000 and $58,000 depending on the trim.

"We now know that the EV market in the U.S. is totally different than we thought," said Farley, noting that "it turns out Americans don't want a [$70,000] or $80,000 electric vehicle just because it's electric."

Ford is considering discontinuing the Lightning, the Wall Street Journal reported last week, because of low demand for the model and large electric trucks as a whole. Lightning production was temporarily paused last month over an aluminum shortage. A Ford spokesperson previously told MarketWatch that it does not comment on "speculation about future product plans."

The company sold 24,577 Lightning pickups across the first 10 months of the year, slightly down compared to the same time frame in 2024. By comparison, Ford sold 44,868 Mustang Mach-E vehicles through October, a 15% increase year over year.

-William Gavin

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11-12-25 1304ET