Ford said it hasn’t abandoned its aim to achieve companywide carbon neutrality by 2050. It’s just going to go about it in a different way than earlier planned.
Like most automakers, the Detroit-area company has backed off ambitious goals to go all electric in the face of slower demand and government disincentives. This week, it said it will eliminate some larger electric models, including the popular F-150 Lightning, instead refocusing on hybrids. In fact, it said most of its models will have hybrid or “multienergy” power train options by 2029.
Ford also plans to offer more affordable models amid an inflated market that has made it challenging for many consumers to swing new vehicles. The plan includes five new affordable models by the end of the decade.
“This approach prioritizes affordability, choice and profits,” the company said in a statement.
Ford now expects half of its worldwide production volume to be made up of hybrids and EVs by 2030, including extended-range electrifieds, compared to just 17% across those categories this year. It will make purely electric models on what it calls its Universal EV Platform for smaller, affordable vehicles, including a midsize pickup to enter production in 2027.
The next generation of the Lightning, meanwhile, will be an extended-range model produced at its Rouge EV plant in Dearborn. The production team formerly assigned to the current Lightning will join a third team at another Dearborn truck plant for F-150 gas and hybrid production.
Ford said the shifts to “rationalize” its EV lineup will make it more profitable. It anticipates more than $19 billion in special charges this year tied to EVs.
Meanwhile, the company announced a new business line in sales and service of battery energy storage for data centers and infrastructure “to support the electric grid” via its underutilized EV battery capacity. While Ford didn’t mention artificial intelligence, the technology requires copious amounts of electricity and is driving expansion of data center development.
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