Ford rebounds with crazy EV growth in April
Ford has rebounded from what many considered to be a tough Earnings Call regarding its electrification plans with a crazy EV growth figure in April.
Ford managed to increase its EV sales by 129.2 percent in April compared to the same month last year. The change was mostly due to an increase in interest in the Mustang Mach-E, which saw a 204.7 percent increase in sales compared to the same month last year.
Ford sold 8,019 EVs in April 2024, a drastic increase from the 3,499 it sold last year. 4,893 of the EVs sold were Mustang Mach-E units, while 2,090 were of the F-150 Lightning. The E-Transit also sold 1,036 units.
Each of the EVs in Ford’s lineup saw at least a 56 percent increase in sales compared to last April.
Interestingly, Ford also saw a record in hybrid vehicle sales, as the company is one of several seeing increased interest in the powertrain.
Tesla said in its Q1 2024 Shareholder Deck that global electric vehicle demand and interest have subsided slightly as more automakers focus on hybrid vehicles. Ford is also seeing increased interest in the vehicle type and sold 17,997 hybrids in April, a new monthly record.
Ford is still dealing with some issues with electric vehicle demand throughout its lineup. Still, during its recent Earnings Call, it reiterated that it would focus on bringing its Model e unit to profitability.
Ford cut its business into divisions several years back, with Model e handling its EV sales and operations.
The Model e division took a major hit in Q1, with revenues falling 84 percent and recording losses of $1.3 billion.
Ford decided to reverse its massive $10 billion investment in EVs, pledging between $8 billion and $9 billion in future investments.
“We’ll probably be on the low end of that range,” CEO Jim Farley said about the $8 billion to $9 billion investment range. “And we’re being very consistent about our discipline on profitability.”
It is focusing on bringing affordable models to market with a skunkworks team that is led by a former Tesla alumni.
However, it is being cautious moving forward as the EV unit has continued to burn cash.
“We’re going to spend less capital on larger EVs,” Farley stated. “And as we’ve always said, we’ll have a very small number of those. We’re going to focus those large EVs on geographies and product segments where we have a dominant advantage like trucks and vans. And those products will have breakthrough efficiency compared to our Gen 1 products, and they’re going to be packed with innovations that customers are going to be excited to pay for.”
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