Even though Ford’s F-150 Lightning sales more than doubled in the third quarter of 2024 and even went up 86% year-over-year, the Blue Oval’s EV division is still many billions in the red, according to the recently released Q3 earnings report. While the company’s EVs are doing better (especially the Lightning), Ford adjusted projections down after Q3.
One big, persistent challenge: getting the costs of both EVs and their batteries down to where they can actually be sold profitably. Outside of Tesla, which took years to pull that off, that's proving to be a complex and difficult task for the entire auto industry. And it's a big problem when the only thing holding back a potential influx of cheap Chinese EVs is tariffs.
So on Q3's earnings call, CEO Jim Farley said Ford's upcoming electric midsize truck has a lofty goal: match what China can do with its EV manufacturing costs. And that means simplify, simplify and simplify some more.
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