A funny thing happened on the way to America’s EV disaster. Ford (NYSE: F | F Price Prediction), which took a $19.5 billion write-off for its EV mistakes, has a stock that will not stop rising. It is up 49% in the last year, and 7% so far in 2026.
Ford has done investors a favor by getting all its recent bad news out quickly. It missed its fourth-quarter earnings largely because of $900 million in tariffs. Its “Model e” business, Ford’s EV operation, will incur an additional $4 billion to $4.5 billion in losses this year. However, guidance for the whole company for 2026 was high.
Ford reported an all-time high in industry recalls last year. Its 153 recalls covered approximately 13 million vehicles. It reflected poorly on Ford’s quality control. However, some argued that Ford has gotten bad-quality news out fast by treating recalls this way. More recently built models have higher quality, Ford argues, and the number of recalls will drop sharply. This remains to be seen.
Ford’s CEO Jim Farley is apparently discussing joint ventures with Chinese auto companies. He has stated on multiple occasions that Chinese EV manufacturers could dominate the US market if they are permitted to enter. Fortunately, the tariffs on Chinese EV is 100%.
The joint venture discussions indicate that Ford has decided to be less ambitious in its EV investment plans, despite still believing in an EV future. JVs could, however, open the door to Chinese car companies manufacturing vehicles in the US and eventually circumventing tariffs.
Investors like several things about Ford. Its gas-powered car business and what it calls its “Pro” division each do well financially. CBT reports, “At the business unit level, the ‘Ford Pro’ fleet and commercial division is forecast to generate $6.5 billion to $7.5 billion in pre-tax earnings.”
To its benefit, Ford, first of all, has become realistic about its businesses as it describes them to investors. That gives investors some comfort, and optimism.
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