How Ford Loses $3 Billion on America's Most Popular Car

The Ford F-150 – a large pickup truck – is the most popular new car in America. It's been that way for years. Still, Ford managed to lose $3 billion in 2023 on the F-150 (and Mustang Mach-E).

We need to refine our topic. Ford didn't lose money A regular F-150, but in the F-150 Lightning. Losses at Ford's electric division widened from $2.1 billion in 2022 to an expected $3 billion in 2023, CFO John Lawler said.

Ford is developing three fully electric models

In the United States, Ford now makes three fully electric models: the E-Transit, the Mustang Mach-E and the F-150 Lightning. The latter is more popular in North America. Late last year, Ford even stopped taking orders.

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More than 200,000 orders for the F-150 Lightning

The Ford F-150 Lightning was introduced early last year. By December, Ford already had 200,000 orders for the plug-in pickup. It takes at least three years to restore them all, which is why second-hand lightnings sell for exorbitant prices.

Ford is now divided into three business units

Ford will split into three business segments by the end of 2022: Ford Blue (passenger cars), Ford Pro (commercial vehicles) and Model E (electric models). The latter segment suffers huge losses due to high investments.

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More investments in EV and battery technology

Ford is investing billions in the development and production of EVs and batteries for those EVs, while absolute sales numbers are still relatively low. These are to be compensated by two other institutions.

And it will work, because Ford Blue and Ford Pro are on track to make $7 and $6 billion in profits by 2022, respectively. Ford expects its electric Model e segment to turn profitable by the end of 2026.

General Motors is very optimistic

General Motors is more optimistic. Its power branch may be in the black as early as 2025. How is that possible? GM is ahead of Ford in investing in new factories.

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None of the manufacturers make a profit on their EVs

At the moment, no car brand other than Tesla has made a profit on their electric vehicles. This will certainly change in the coming years as production and sales increase.