Ford Motor Co. said Thursday that it is pushing back its production target for electric vehicles (EVs), even as the Biden administration has heavily subsidized the EV industry.
Ford expects to produce EVs at a rate of 600,000 per year by the end of 2024, a delay from its expectation that it would hit that rate at the end of 2023, and has pushed its estimate of reaching a rate of two million per year to 2026, according to CNBC.
The Biden administration has heavily subsidized Ford and other automakers to produce electric vehicles through policies like the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which includes tax credits for electric vehicles and the production of batteries themselves.
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“The transition to EVs is happening, it just may take a little longer,” Ford CFO John Lawler said following second-quarter earnings results, according to CNBC. “It will be a little slower than the industry expected.”
The change in goals from the company follows a slash in prices by as much as $10,000 from Ford for the electric version of its signature F-150 pickup truck in order to qualify for the Biden administration’s $75,000 consumer tax credit, which only applies to vehicles under $80,000. The number of Ford battery-powered trucks and cars that have gone unsold and are in stock has hit 90,000 this year, which is double the industry average of cars held in stock.
“The near-term pace of EV adoption will be a little slower than expected, which is going to benefit early movers like Ford,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said in a statement, according to CNBC. “While others are trying to catch up, we have clean-sheet, next-generation products in advanced development that will blow people away.”
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Ford expects an operating loss of $4.5 billion this year on its electric Model e, while already posting a loss of $1.8 billion for the second quarter on the product, according to CNBC.
On June 22, Ford and its South Korean business partner, SK On, received a $9.2 billion loan to construct three electric vehicle factories in the southern U.S. from the Biden administration. Less than a week later, Ford announced it would be laying off at least 1,000 North American employees.
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