(Bloomberg) -- Ford Motor Co.'s launches of three important new models -- the redesigned F-150 pickup, all-new electric Mustang Mach-E and revived Bronco sport-utility vehicle -- will be set back by roughly the amount of time its plants have been idle.
The automaker, which plans to restart North American production May 18, badly needs the profits the vehicles will generate to bounce back from what it predicts will be a $5 billion operating loss this quarter. Ford is doing what it can to minimize the lag caused by its plants being inactive for about two months. Each model had been scheduled to go into production by year's end, with first sales of the Bronco expected in early 2021.
“We're not going do any additional delay to these launches beyond the impact of Covid-19 as a mechanism to conserve cash,” Hau Thai-Tang, Ford's head of product development and purchasing, said Friday at a Bank of America analysts' conference. “Given our inability to work in the assembly plants during the shelter-in-place restrictions, it will have an impact to program timing, in terms of the launches. But we expect the launch delays to be commensurate with the duration of the shutdown period.”
Ford's plants in China and Europe already have resumed production. The global shutdowns have taken a toll on Ford's stock. The shares fell as much as 2.9% to $4.75 on Friday and are down 48% this year.
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