Ford Motor Company: Understanding the automaker’s history, legacy
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- Ford is shifting its electric vehicle strategy to include Extended Range Electric Vehicle (EREV) technology in its F-150 Lightning.
- The company will expand its hybrid and gasoline powertrain options, expecting them to make up half of global sales by 2030.
- Ford plans to hire thousands of new U.S. employees for roles in vehicle assembly and battery energy storage systems.
Ford Motor Co. has announced a pivot in its future electric vehicle strategy that includes keeping the all-electric F-150 Lightning pickup in production, but said the new model will use Extended Range Electric Vehicle (EREV) technology, meaning it has a generator on it to recharge it, giving it added range and charging capacity.
Ford made the announcement Monday, Dec. 15, along with several other changes including that it will offer a range of hybrid and gasoline powertrains on its vehicles to complement its upcoming new Universal EV Platform, which Ford unveiled in August. By 2030, the company said it expects that half of all vehicles Ford sells globally will be hybrids, extended-range EVs and electric vehicles compared with 17% today.
The Dearborn automaker also said it will hire “thousands of new employees” in the United States over the next few years as it shifts production in various plants and starts a new business building battery energy storage systems at its facilities in Kentucky and Marshall, Michigan. The automaker also said it plans on assembling new pickups at BlueOval City in Tennessee and a new gasoline powered and hybrid van will be produced at its Ohio Assembly Plant in Sheffield, Ohio.
Ford said all these actions will help its profit margins, and at its Model e division, which is Ford’s electric vehicle unit, it expects it will start seeing improvements to revenue starting next year and reach profitability in 2029. In the last few years, Ford has bled billions from its Model e division; last year alone Ford lost $5 billion on EVs.
As a result of all these changes, the company said it will record $19.5 billion in charges, with most of it taken in the fourth quarter. Of that $19.5 billion, about $5.5 billion are cash charges with the majority of that being paid in 2026 and the remainder in 2027.
But Ford said due to continued underlying business strength and cost improvements, it is increasing its projected adjusted earnings before interest and taxes for 2025 to $7 billon, up from the previous estimate of $6 billion to $6.5 billion.
This is a developing story.
Jamie L. LaReau is the senior autos writer for USA Today Co. who covers Ford Motor Co. for the Detroit Free Press. Contact Jamie at jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. To sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.
