Reuters reports that Ford’s commercial business has been a profit engine, especially as the automaker burns cash on EV production and development. They announced plans to use a plant in Canada that had been slated to build EVs to instead build larger gas-powered trucks for its F-Series. They write:
Ford Motor on Thursday outlined plans to use a Canadian plant it had earmarked for a future electric vehicle to instead build larger, gasoline-powered versions of its flagship F-Series pickup truck.
Ford in April had already delayed the launch of the planned three-row electric SUVs at its Oakville Assembly facility from 2025 to 2027, citing slower than expected growth in EV demand. It said on Thursday it remained committed to those EVs and that timeline but did not say where they would now be built.
The Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker plans to add capacity for 100,000 F-Series Super Duty trucks at the facility, including the ability to use what the company called “future multi-energy technology.” […]
Growth in EV demand globally has slowed, causing market leaders like Tesla and BYD to cut prices to stimulate sales, and legacy automakers like Ford and General Motors to pull back on many of their lofty battery-powered goals. […]
Ford’s commercial business has been a profit engine, especially as the automaker burns cash on EV production and development. The company is betting on software-related services in its commercial division to drive profits in the coming years. The unit had operating profit margins of almost 17% last quarter.
Ford and GM are scheduled to release second-quarter results next week.
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