Ford CEO Jim Farley Predicts EV Adoption In US Will Only Be About 5% As Company Pauses F-150 Lightning Production

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) CEO Jim Farley predicted that EV adoption in the U.S. would fall amid a pivot towards Hybrid and ICE-powered vehicles.

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EV Adoption To Be Around 5%

During the automaker's third-quarter earnings call with investors, Farley predicted falling demand for EVs amid federal policy changes and incentive rollbacks in the U.S. "In the near term, I believe EV adoption will now only be about 5% of the U.S. market," Farley said. He added that the demand for EVs would grow in the future, "especially for affordable EV vehicles."

He also touted Ford's new Universal EV platform, which will form the basis of its sub-$30,000 EVs in the future. "We are well positioned for this with the universal EV platform, which underpins digitally advanced, very spacious, and appealing products that start at around $30,000," he said, adding that the automaker had sourced 95% of the EV’s components.

He also highlighted that Ford will be kicking off production of LFP battery cells at the BlueOval Battery Park in Marshall, Michigan. Ford invested over $5 billion in its domestic manufacturing capabilities, with the investment set to create over 4,000 jobs.

Ford Pauses F-150 Lightning Production

The news comes as Ford announced it will be pausing the production of the F-150 Lightning EV Pickup truck, citing aluminium shortages due to a fire at Novelis' production plant in Oswego, New York, last month, as well as a shift towards Hybrids and Gas-powered vehicles, which are "more profitable," according to the automaker.

GM's EV Scaleback

Meanwhile, Ford rival General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM) also announced it was scaling back EV efforts, with the company halting production of the BrightDrop EV Fleet van in Canada's Ontario province, as the company’s CFO, Paul Jacobson, also highlighted a "significant pullback" in EV demand.

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