Ford told investors Thursday that its electric-vehicle business will lose $3 billion this year, though it projects healthy overall profit of $9 billion to $11 billion and that the EV business should turn its own profit of 8% by the close of 2026.
The news illustrates the Dearborn-Mich.-based carmaker’s investment in EVs as it works to compete with market leader Tesla and work along with many other legacy brands to transition to all-electric lineups next decade.
Ford, which was the second biggest selling EV seller in the U.S. last year, said earlier this month that it’s ramping up production of its popular and longest-running EV models, including the Mustang Mach-E, whose hourly production will nearly double to an annual average production of 210,000 by the end of the year.
Ford F-150 Lightning production is scheduled to triple this year with a $2 billion investment across three plants. The targeted annual production rate for it is 150,000. Ford sold 15,617 of them last year, making it the best-selling electric truck in the U.S.
The carmaker recently split its operations between electric and internal-combustion-engine models and aims for half of its worldwide sales to be EVs by 2030.
Ford said the new Model e business unit for EVs should have a cumulative 2021 to 2023 loss of $6 billion. It projects its longest-running EV models will be profitable pretax by the close of next year.
The brand still has a ways to go to catch up with Tesla on EV market share. But according to Kelley Blue Book estimates, Tesla’s share continues to fall as legacy brands like Ford make inroads, dipping below 60% for the first time in the fourth quarter.
