Ford discontinuing its all-electric F-150 truck, taking billions in losses

Ford is paring down its focus on electric vehicles and investing more in gasoline and hybrid models, a pivot expected to cost the carmaker billions.

In an 8-K filing to the federal Securities and Exchange Commission on Dec. 9, Ford explained that there has been less adoption of electric vehicles than hoped by consumers, especially since tax credits that incentivized such vehicles are no longer in place. 

Ford also said that possible relaxation of federal emissions standards under President Trump and laws that would prevent California and other states from implementing separate, stricter emissions standards could also weaken the electric vehicle (EV) market.

As a result, Ford said that it “made the decision to rationalize our EV manufacturing capacity and product roadmap, including  canceling three previously planned EVs (a full-size pickup, a commercial van for the United States, and a commercial van for Europe) and ending production of the current generation F-150 Lightning EV.”

“The last couple of months have been really clear to us. The very high-end EVs — the $50,000, $70,000, $80,000 vehicles — they just weren’t selling,” Ford CEO Jim Farley told CNBC.

Ford said it expects to suffer $19.5 billion in special item losses from its changes to its EV strategy, and another $5.5 billion in cash expenditures between now and 2027, mostly in the remainder of 2025 and in 2026. 

The company has already incurred $13 billion in EV-related losses since 2023, according to The Associated Press.

Ford lost those billions investing in all-electric vehicles while trying to meet fuel-efficiency rules imposed by Democratic lawmakers.

Ford previously went along with a multi-carmaker agreement with California to reduce emissions and with a Biden administration mandate in 2021 to ensure that half of all new cars sold in 2030 would be zero-emissions vehicles.

In 2023, Ford announced that it was dedicating over $50 billion in investments into electric batteries and vehicles, with a goal of having half of its global sales volume consist of electric vehicles by 2030.

Production of the current all-electric F-150 Lightning truck will end this year, Ford said Monday. Instead, the company will move to make the F-150 Lightning EREV, which stands for extended range electric vehicle, a type of hybrid.

The F-150 EREV will move itself using electric motors, but will also feature a gas-powered generator and a range of 700 miles or more, Ford said. In addition, starting in 2029, a Ford facility in Tennessee previously dedicated to the production of all-electric Ford vehicles will instead make gas-powered trucks and an Ohio facility will focus on gas and hybrid commercial vans.

In lieu of the all-electric truck, Ford said Monday that its future electric vehicle development will be focused on “a high-volume family of smaller, highly efficient and affordable electric vehicles,” including a midsize pickup that will be assembled at a facility in Louisville, Kentucky, starting in 2027.

Ford said Monday that its new increased focus on hybrids is meant to complement its gas-engine models.

Outside of its various cars and trucks, Ford also plans to start producing other batteries and battery energy storage systems that can be sold for use in data centers and elsewhere.