- For now, and perhaps until the all-electric Model-e unit becomes profitable, Ford’s main business is as a commercial truck maker. (Current 2023 F-150 Rattler is pictured above.)
- Ford plans to expand its EV business with more models in the mold of Mustang Mach-e and F-150 Lightning—distinctive, niche models rather than mass-market volume.
- “I’m so glad we didn’t bet the farm on two-row crossovers (EVs), as so many have,” Farley said.
Ford will unveil its next F-150 and F-150 hybrid at the North American International Detroit Auto Show this September, CEO Jim Farley told Wall Street analysts during the automaker’s second-quarter earnings call. The debuts will come a year after the seventh-generation Mustang was revealed.
The F-150 and Mustang both are part of Ford Blue, the “legacy” arm of the company’s trifurcated business units, which includes SUVs and everything from the Lincoln division—the remaining internal-combustion-powered passenger vehicles. Ford Blue’s earnings before income taxes (EBIT) came in a tick lower than the Ford Pro unit, which includes Transit vans and F-Series Super Duty commercial trucks.
For the second quarter, Pro’s EBIT was $2.4 billion, up 22% year-over-year, from revenues of $15.6 billion, compared to Blue’s EBIT of $2.3 billion, up 5%, off revenues of $25 billion.
Blue’s EBIT is still ahead for the full first half-year, at $4.9 billion from $50.1 billion in revenues, to Pro’s $3.8 billion off revenues of $28.8 billion.
For now, and perhaps until the all-electric Model-e unit becomes profitable, Ford’s main business is as a commercial truck maker. Farley credits its Tesla-esque paid digital subscription services for boosting Pro’s earnings. The company has sold about 550,000 such paid subscriptions, Farley said, with Pro vehicles accounting for 80% of that.
Ford’s plan is to expand its EV passenger vehicle business with more models in the mold of Mustang Mach-e and F-150 Lightning—distinctive, niche models rather than mass-market volume.
“I’m so glad we didn’t bet the farm on two-row crossovers (EVs), as so many have,” Farley said.
Model-e lost $1.08 billion in the second quarter, for a first-half loss of $1.8 billion. The company now expects to lose $4.5 billion on its EV unit for the full year, up from the $3 billion loss warning from the beginning of 2023. The good news is Ford expects Pro and Blue to cover the difference. The company has raised its guidance for the year by $2 billion, to the $11-12 billion range, same as General Motors’ raised expectations from earlier this week.
Ford wholesaled 34,000 Model-e EVs in the second quarter, compared to 365,000 Pro trucks and 720,000 Blue models. The recent $10,000 Lightning price cut was not to prop up demand, Farley said, but more a result of fluid pricing by the EV competition. He noted that Ford produced just 24,000 EVs in the first quarter but will increase that to 100,000 EVs produced in the fourth quarter, and it will reach an annual rate of 600,000 during the next year.
While Ford is looking forward to much improved profit margins from its upcoming second-generation EV architecture—and more so from the third generation under development—hybrid powerplants will remain an important part of its clean vehicle technology.
“We never thought we’d be at 60% hybrid mix for Maverick,” Farley said. “You’re going to see a lot of different hybrids from us, but don’t think of them in terms of Escape Hybrid or Toyota.
“For all-electric or hybrid vehicles … it’s not going to be a compliance vehicle. It’s going to be a vehicle on which we make 8% (profit),” he said, though that could include profits from software services.
Ford’s all-electric Model-e business unit lost $1 billion in the second quarter. How long can Dearborn afford to lose money like that? Please comment below.
Contributing Editor
As a kid growing up in Metro Milwaukee, Todd Lassa impressed childhood friends with his ability to identify cars on the street by year, make, and model. But when American automakers put an end to yearly sheetmetal changes, Lassa turned his attention toward underpowered British sports cars with built-in oil leaks. After a varied early journalism career, he joined Autoweek, then worked in Motor Trend’s and Automobile’s Detroit bureaus, before escaping for Mountain Maryland with his wife, three dogs, three sports cars (only one of them British), and three bicycles. Lassa is founding editor of thehustings.news, which has nothing to do with cars.
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