Ford Does Not Intend To Build Electric Super-Duty Trucks, Says Top Executive

Ford Motor Company F has no plans of building all-electric Super Duty pickup trucks, a top executive told analysts in a fireside chat hosted by Credit Suisse.

"At the moment, we do not have any plans to go into heavy-duty with battery-electric vehicles," said Ford's Americas and International Markets Group President Kumar Galhotra.

What Happened: Ford F-Series vehicles is a significant revenue stream for the company reaching $42 billion in 2019, reports Detroit Free Press.

A light-duty pickup truck weighs 8,500 pounds or less, whereas a heavy-duty pickup, referred to as Super Duty by Ford, exceeds 8,500 pounds.

In response to an analysts' question, Ford CFO John Lawler said that the company aims to build a profitable electric vehicle portfolio. The company has to leverage its strengths and scale, which makes them strategic about the chosen platforms.

Why It Matters: Ford's Mach-E has its own platform designed from the ground up to be a battery-electric vehicle, but Ford trucks and commercial vehicles will be built on platforms they share with the internal combustion engine models to achieve scale, Lawler said.

Lawler also added that Ford has an alliance with Volkswagen AG VWAGY for battery-electric commercial vehicles in Europe to benefit from their scale.

Ford is taking on Tesla Inc TSLA with its Mach-E vehicle. CEO Jim Farley, in a separate interview with the DFP, said that Mach-E is the first real competitor with Tesla. The CEO added that "Tesla is not a Mustang."

Price Action: Ford shares closed 0.26% lower to $7.71 on Monday.

Image Courtesy: Wikimedia