Ford Delays Electric Vehicle Production Goal by One Year

According to The Washington Post, Ford’s CEO Jim Farley has revised the timeline for the company’s electric vehicle production goal. Instead of reaching the target of manufacturing 600,000 EV units per year by late 2023, Ford now anticipates achieving this milestone sometime in 2024. The delay is attributed to the implementation of lithium iron phosphate battery packs, which will aid in cost reduction and decrease reliance on materials like nickel that are susceptible to shortages.

In the company’s earnings report (PDF), Farley explained that “the near-term pace of electric vehicle adoption is a bit slower than expected,” but he believes that will “benefit early movers like Ford.” He added: “Electric car customers are brand loyal and we’re winning over a lot of them with our high-volume, first-generation products.” The automaker’s all-electric business performed well in the second quarter of the year, with first-generation F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E sales up 39 percent.

Ford was hit with pre-orders for the F-150 Lightning after it was announced and had to temporarily stop taking reservations due to demand. The company has recently reduced the vehicle’s prices due to increased production capacity, although it may also be because it wants to attract more customers who are also looking at models from competitors such as Tesla and General Motors.

Ford CFO John Lawler said that “the transition to electric cars is happening, it may take a little longer” and “it’s going to be a little slower than the industry expects.” The automaker also planned to produce 2 million electric cars a year by 2026, but this delay affects that goal as well. CNBC said that Ford now doesn’t know when it can reach that production level, but Lawler assured that the company will still invest the same amount of money in electric vehicles.