Cars and Drivers

Ford's EV Programs Collapses

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: October 14, 2023 8:22 am

Ford’s plan to rule the EV market in the U.S., particularly in the pickup sector, has started to unravel. The Wall Street Journal obtained a UAW memo that shows Ford would slow production of its F-150 Lightning, the company’s EV flagship. The memo also said Ford has begun to build more gas-driven F-150s.

Earlier in the year, Ford said it would produce EVs at a rate of 600,000 in 2023. It then pushed that forecast to 2024. “We expect the EV market to remain volatile until the winners and losers shake out,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said in July. It now appears Ford is moving in the direction of a loser.

Ford has gambled its future on EVs as much as any car company in America. Even Bill Ford, Ford’s executive chairman, said the Lightning launch was the most important in his tenure. For reasons perhaps only he knows, Farley has been allowed to keep his job despite his bungles.

Ford has to deal with two monsters today. The first is EV demand, and the other is demand from the UAW. Ford has spent billions as it ramps up its production of EVs. It has not disclosed what a rich UAW contract would do but Fairly said it would cause deep injury to Ford’s finances.

Ironically, the gas-powered F-150 is Ford’s best-selling vehicle by far and has been the best-selling vehicle in the U.S. for over four decades. Its currently is over a third of Ford’s total U.S. unit sales.

Ford may be stuck with the gas-powered F-150 as its best-selling car for years. That would be the greatest proof that Ford is not, and will not be, an EV-centric company. (These are the 13 biggest electric vehicle business failures in American history.)