Analysis-Ford’s EV retreat highlights industry dilemma: Build for the US or the world? 

By Nora Eckert

DETROIT, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Ford CEO Jim Farley walked done Ford’s Michigan plan workplace Monday afternoon, reflecting connected however helium was astir to hitch retired thousands of enactment hours connected electrical vehicles that helium and his squad had hoped would revolutionize the American car industry.

Shortly after, his institution announced it would termination respective of those battery-powered models and instrumentality a $19.5 cardinal writedown connected EV-related assets. It marked the industry’s ​biggest electric-vehicle retreat since U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping auto-policy changes iced already cooling EV demand.

Farley had spent years telling unit and investors that catching up to Tesla and China’s starring EV makers amounted to an existential struggle. ‌Now – aft losing astir $13 cardinal connected EVs since 2023 – Farley says the way to endurance lies successful ditching these unprofitable models.

“We can't allocate wealth for things that volition not marque money,” helium told Reuters connected Monday. “As overmuch arsenic I emotion those products, the customers successful the U.S. were not going to wage for ‌them. And that was the extremity of that.”

Farley’s angst reflects the broader conundrum facing car executives successful the aftermath of Trump-administration policies that stripped the manufacture of EV subsidies and eased restrictions connected tailpipe pollution.

Most automakers present can’t merchantability EVs successful the U.S. profitably oregon successful measurement – but indispensable merchantability them successful China, Europe and different markets to appease regulators and vie with Chinese automakers expanding globally.

That’s near Ford and different automakers with the situation of tailoring vastly antithetic conveyance lineups for antithetic regions.

The attack layers connected other expenses the manufacture thought it had near down successful caller decades done globalization – making fundamentally the aforesaid car, with communal proviso chains, to merchantability worldwide. Fifteen years ago, then-CEO Alan Mulally called the strategy ‘One Ford.’

Now Farley needs galore Fords. His institution and others person been turning to partnerships to sorb ⁠the other costs of catering to antithetic planetary markets. Renault and Ford earlier this period ‌announced they would spouse to physique affordable EVs for Europe.

Following the concern announcement, Ford said Monday it won’t physique the electrical commercialized van it initially planned for that market. Ford has besides been seeking a Chinese spouse to supply EV level technologies, Reuters has reported.

On EVs, Farley hopes to thread the needle by sidesplitting astir EV models but preserving a $30,000 midsize electrical motortruck owed retired successful 2027, ‍which a specialized skunkworks squad successful California has engineered to instrumentality connected EV powerhouses Tesla and China's BYD.