Ford CEO warns brand will ‘not invest’ in EVs unless there is ‘non-negotiable’ change
Ford boss Jim Farley has issued a major warning over the future of electric cars with the American brand suggesting models must make money before more investment is delivered.
Ford CEO Jim Farley has warned the company will “not invest” in electric cars unless the American giant will be profitable.
Mr Farley even stressed that the future of motoring may not be fully EV with a potential respite for petrol and diesel models in some capacity.
It comes after Ford’s electric vehicle unit reported heavy in the first quarter with figures amounting to $1.3 billion (£1billion) across the first three months of the year.
Back in 2021, Ford confirmed that 100 percent of Ford’s passenger vehicle range in Europe will be zero-emissions capable by 2026 before becoming all-electric by 2030. Ford UK have since pushed this back to 2035 in line with Rishi Sunak's delay last Autumn.
However, Jim has warned it was “non-negotiable” that EVs have to become profitable sooner rather than later.
Speaking to Yahoo Money’s Opening Bid show, Jim said: “First of all we are not going to invest in the future of EVs unless we’re convinced we’ll be profitable.
“That’s my job. I'm not going to allocate capital to my leadership team or anyone in the company if we don't think we are going to be profitable in the next cycle of products. That aspect is undeniable, it’s non-negotiable.
“We really believe in the consumer experience for EVs and so we want the next ones to be more affordable and that’s why we are investing in more affordable EVs in the next cycle.”
Mr Farley claimed it was likely that the firm would begin turning profits on EVs within “a couple of years”.
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He stressed there was a chance to “turn around losses” in the current first-generation cycle but that profits would only start to emerge when second-generation vehicles emerged onto the market.
He then claimed electric models were not the only future of motoring despite the investment in the new technology.
Jim stressed: “I don't think really anyone with a lot of confidence can tell you what 30 years look like.
“But it's pretty clear to us what the next five to ten years will look like. It's not going to be a future that’s only EVs. It will be a mixed powertrain of PHEVs, hybrids, pure ICE if you're towing something and electrics.
“Electrics will be a big part of the industry but not the only part of the industry.”
Ford has launched just one full EV model in the UK with the Mustang Mach-E. The F-150 Lightning is also on sale in the USA but is not on sale in most of Europe.
However, Jim stressed that customers who switch to EVs very rarely jump back to combustion models.
Jim commented: “We think for customers they love the flexibility. They love not having to go to the gas station, they love having a full tank every morning, they like having a digitally enabled car which normally comes with an EV.
“There are a lot of incredibly attractive consumer aspects of an EV. I think it started off as an expensive technology and one that was really dominated in the urban world."
He added: “We are seeing customers who buy a Mustang Mach-E or a Lightning. They don't go back to an ICE vehicle. It’s like a different experience for them and they don’t want to go back to the other experience.”
