Ford's numbers don't add up: it loses $50,000 for every electric car it sells

Sales of electric cars are not going as expected. This surprises no one, because we have been reading this for several years now. But the situation gets considerably more complicated when we have access to real data on one of the manufacturers. Ford has invested several billion dollars in developing electric vehicles, and the market results are by no means what they hoped to achieve.

According to the figures provided by the American manufacturer itself, Ford’s electric vehicle division has posted losses of 1.1 billion dollars. A very high figure that marks a worrying trend for the company in the coming months.

Ford’s electric car sales in the United States have totalled 23,957 units, which have not been enough to cover part of the investment made in developing electric vehicles. These 1.1 billion dollars written off as losses mean that during the first two quarters of 2024 the results show 2.5 billion dollars in losses. And not only that: the losses expected at the end of this year are 5.5 billion dollars.

However, Ford’s sales of its other models are not going too badly. During the second quarter of 2024, Ford sold 536,050 units in the US market. This represents a small increase of 1% compared with the same period of 2023. So far this year, the million units sold represent an increase of 3.6% compared with the 2023 results.

As far as electric vehicles are concerned, 23,957 units were sold during the second quarter, an increase of 61% over the previous quarter. As a result, electric vehicles account for 4% of Ford’s total sales. Looking at hybrid vehicles, these have also increased, and at a higher rate.

53,882 units were sold during the second quarter, which shows that this type of vehicle is gaining greater acceptance among buyers. The increase in hybrid vehicle sales was 56%, and the main driver was the Ford Maverick. As for electric cars, the best seller is still the Ford Mustang Mach-E.

Consequences

All of this has led to several consequences for the brand’s short- and medium-term strategies. To begin with, Ford has reduced the number of batteries it had ordered from suppliers such as SK On Co., LG Energy Solutions Ltd. and CATL. The number of batteries it will receive from each of them is not known, but the supply contracts with these suppliers will be maintained.

However, Ford has not given up its intention to market new electric models and continues to invest in them. It is a long-term investment, and all current developments remain in force and will serve the next models to arrive under the brand. Apparently they will keep investing, because they expect demand for electric models to grow in the coming years. So, although the immediate future may look fairly negative, the brand believes it will soon be able to get through this negative phase.