Ford To Retreat From EVs, To Halt Fully Electric F-150 Amid Mounting Losses And Trump Policy Shift

In a major development, American car manufacturer Ford has confirmed it will cease production of the F-150 Lightning, its flagship electric car pickup truck, in a direct response to tepid market demand.

The company has added that it will instead focus on hybrid vehicles and a future line of smaller EVs, as part of the company trying to rethink its ambitions in the EV Space.

The announcement erased Ford's share price, which rose over 1% during the post-market hours.

In a statement on Monday, Ford detailed how the company has witnessed timid growth when it comes to large EV models and as such, the halt in production of the F-150 Lighting comes as a natural progression.

This marks the return of a full circle for Ford, which had designed the electric F-150 Lighting model on a gas-powered truck. Now, an upcoming hybrid plug-in will once again have a gasoline engine.

This comes on the back of lower-than-expected sales figures for EV trucks, as Ford started losing money on its bigger EV models. The company wasn't helped by Donald Trump pulling a 180 on US' EV policy, as he pulled back incentives towards EV cars, including stripping away a $7,500 tax credit.

To compensate for this major move, Ford has announced it will focus on smaller, more compact, and affordable vehicles, as far as the electric vehicle range is concerned.

This pivot will leave Ford with a supply surplus of batteries since the company had already invested heavily in battery capacity. As such, Ford has announced a new line of business: It will revamp its Kentucky site to build batteries for stationary storage.

Ford has confirmed the entire exercise will cost the company almost $20 billion in special items in the fourth quarter of the ongoing financial year.

It must be noted that Ford is also re-entering Formula One from next season, working with Red Bull Powertrains to help Red Bull Racing and VCARB build the new engine for the 2026 edition, where new regulations come into effect.