Ford’s multibillion-dollar EV ambitions collapsed faster than almost anyone predicted, and the company’s bold plan to rebuild from scratch raises more questions than it answers.
Ford’s (NYSE: F | F Price Prediction) first attempt to conquer the EV world was supposed to cost $30 billion. By the end of the decade, a huge share of its new-car sales would be EVs. They would sell hundreds of thousands a year. They even used two of their iconic brands for EV launches. The F-150 Lightning was named after America’s best-selling vehicle for decades. The Mustang Mach-E was named after one of the best-selling cars in Ford history.
Ford has finally run out of EVs just as it tries to enter the sector again
In July, Ford sold only 141 Lightning units, down 95% from the year before. That is less than five a day across the entire US. Ford sold 1,863 Mach-Es, down 64.9%. Inventory for both must be near zero.
Ford has made an odd decision about re-entering the EV segment. It will build and sell just one vehicle. It will cost a fortune to get it off the assembly line, and Ford has not said what it will introduce behind it. The Fathom is a small EV pickup, which will sell for under $30,000. Its feature list is close to what you would get on a Tesla. But Tesla had them years ago.
Ford will build the Fathom using the Universal EV Production System. It is, says Ford, the largest advance in assembly lines since the one Henry Ford created to make the Model T. Here is the most astonishing thing. Of all the huge car companies in the world, all the new Chinese EV companies, and the EV segment led by Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), no other car company has been able to create a similar, wildly advanced assembly line. Ford, and only Ford, has figured this out. Impossible? No. Very improbable? Yes
The sun has finally set on what was to be the worst decision in Ford’s history. It is rising on one that is meager, with one small vehicle to be sold into a US market that does not want EVs.
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