Why Ford is scrapping major EV plans and taking a $19.5 billion hit

By William Gavin

The Detroit automaker is refocusing on hybrids and pouring money into battery-energy storage

Ford will cancel the all-electric version of its pickup trucks after electric-vehicle sales fell sharply in 2025.

Ford Motor on Monday said it would take a $19.5 billion charge as it refocuses on hybrids, slashes its electric-vehicle investments and discontinues the electric F-150 pickup truck.

In a statement, the Detroit automaker said its actions are a result of slower-than-expected EV adoption rates, as well as policy changes that have made EVs less appealing to consumers. The federal government recently rolled back fuel-economy rules that encouraged selling EVs and ended key tax credits.

Ford (F) has lost billions of dollars on its designated Model e division and, through November, its EV sales had dropped 60.8% relative to a year earlier.

"This is a customer-driven shift to create a stronger, more resilient and more profitable Ford," CEO Jim Farley said in a statement.

"The operating reality has changed, and we are redeploying capital intohigher-return growth opportunities: Ford Pro, our market-leading trucks and vans, hybrids and high-margin opportunities like our new battery energy-storage business," he added.

Much of the $19.5 billion hit will be recorded in the current quarter, with the rest being spread out across the next two years, Ford said.

Ford on Monday raised its 2025 guidance for earnings before interest and taxes to about $7 billion, getting that forecast back to the midpoint of a target from earlier this year, before a lowering of expectations to between $6 billion and $6.5 billion in October.

The company said it sees a path to making its EV division profitable by 2029, largely thanks to a renewed focus on smaller, more affordable EVs. Its first will be a roughly $30,000 midsize truck hitting the market in 2027.

Part of that new focus includes canceling three planned large all-electric vehicles. The all-electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck will also be discontinued. Its successor will be an extended-range EV, which means it will be equipped with a gas-powered generator that can recharge its battery.

An electric commercial van set to be made in Ohio will be replaced by gas and hybrid options, Ford said. And a plant in Tennessee is now set to make affordable gas-powered models beginning in 2029, rather than EVs.

In a bid to increase revenue, Ford is also investing $2 billion in a battery energy-storage business over the next two years. The company says it will help it get a slice of the demand for energy driven by interest in in artificial-intelligence data centers. That will also put it further in competition with Tesla (TSLA), which has a successful energy business.

-William Gavin

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12-15-25 1719ET