Ford Is Reportedly Losing $100,000 Per EV Sold

Ford's electric vehicle division continues to stand as a loss-leader for the American carmaker.

By: Christopher Smith

May 13, 2024 at 12:45pm ET

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Ford made money in the first quarter of 2024. In its Q1 earnings reports announced on April 24, the company listed a net income of $1.3 billion. That's not exactly chump change, but the payout would've been much higher if Ford's electric vehicles weren't struggling. In fact, the Model e division (which includes all Ford EVs) lost just as much as the entire company gained. According to Bloomberg, Ford is now losing $100,000 on every EV it sells.

Ironically, Ford EV sales were up by a whopping 86 percent through the first three months of the year. But that's still a small portion of Ford's portfolio, totaling just 20,223 sales for the Mach-E, F-150 Lightning, and E-Transit combined.

By comparison, nearly every combustion-powered Ford individually outsold the entirety of the Model e lineup. Only the Mustang, Ranger, E-Series, and Transit Connect fell below the threshold. The Mustang Mach-E—Ford's best-selling EV—recorded 9,589 sales for the period. Compare that to the F-Series which racked up 152,943 sales. US buyers love trucks.

It should come as no surprise, then, that Ford Pro—the company's commercial-focused division—more than offset the losses from Model e. Thanks to strong sales of Super Duty trucks, it recorded a $3 billion gain through the first quarter of the year. Ford Blue, the retail group for combustion and hybrid models, also logged positive revenue of $900 million.

Gallery: Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally

Source: Ford

Ford was not immediately available for comment when reached by Motor1. We'll be sure to update this article when we hear back.

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Ford has already slowed production of electric models in response to cooling EV demand. Bloomberg reports the company is cutting orders with battery suppliers and looking for other ways to offset financial losses from its Model e group.

Changes in the EV landscape aren't just a problem for Ford. Stellantis recently said it was open to building combustion versions of EVs if demand is there. Mercedes-Benz expressed doubts over its electric ambitions. And General Motors is struggling with its Ultium platform.