The figures are straightforward. Over the past two years, Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) shares have gone down 14%. Meanwhile, shares of General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) have risen 13%, the S&P 500 is up 19%, and Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) stock has increased 36%.
What Went Wrong?
Among all the major car companies, Ford has been the worst at balancing the rise of electric vehicles (EVs), which has slowed considerably, and the lasting appeal of gasoline-powered cars. Ford put billions of dollars into EVs, as did many other carmakers, but its failure stands out. It used two of its most iconic brands to sell EVs, and both moves failed. The nation’s best-selling vehicle, the F-150, was introduced as an EV as the F-150 Lightning. The Mustang sports car, introduced in 1964, became the Mustang Mach-E crossover. Each of these sells only a few thousand units a month.
As Toyota strategically decided that hybrids would be the wave of the near future, Ford stuck with its EV plans. As Ford brought out more EV models, it changed the prices of these several times because it could not accurately track production costs. It has finally started to push hybrids more aggressively.
Crosstown rival GM did not spend the brand equity of its most popular cars to sell EVs. It chased Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) as aggressively as Ford did. Still, it was slower and more cautious as it brought out EV versions of popular models, including the Chevy Silverado, which competes with the F-150. (See how much money Tesla makes every minute.)
Ford CEO Bill Ford said the F-150 Lightning was the most important product launch of his tenure at the company. That singled him out to the market as being “all in” on an EV future. However, Ford’s EV sales are more disappointing than those of any major manufacturer that competes with its model lines. Perhaps Bill Ford should have kept his opinions to himself. The markets might have been less disappointed.
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