Dec 15 (Reuters) – Ford Motor said on Monday it would take a $19.5 billion writedown and kill several electric-vehicle models, the most dramatic example of the auto industry’s retreat from battery-powered models in response to Trump administration policies and weak EV demand.
The Dearborn, Michigan-based company said it will stop making the F-150 Lightning as its electric vehicle, but instead an extended-range electric model, a version of the hybrid vehicle called the EREV, which uses a gas-powered generator to recharge the battery. The company is also scrapping a next-generation electric truck, codenamed T3, as well as planned electric commercial vans.
Instead, Ford said it will pivot hard to gas and hybrid models, and will eventually hire thousands of workers, although in the near term there will be some cutbacks at a jointly owned Tennessee battery plant. The company expects its global mix of hybrids, extended-range EVs and pure EVs to reach 50% by 2030, up from 17% today.
Ford will spread the writedown, primarily taken in the fourth quarter and continuing through next year and 2027, the company said. About $8.5 billion is related to the cancellation of planned EV models. About $6 billion is tied to the dissolution of a battery joint venture with South Korea’s SK On, and $5 billion in what Ford called “program-related expenses.”
The automaker also raised its 2025 guidance for adjusted earnings before taxes and interest to about $7 billion, from $6 billion to $6.5 billion previously.
Ford’s shift reflects the auto industry’s response to declining demand for battery-powered models after car companies poured hundreds of billions of dollars into EV investments earlier this decade. The outlook for electrics dimmed significantly this year as U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies bolstered federal support for EVs and eased tailpipe-emissions regulations, which could encourage automakers to sell more gas-powered cars.
U.S. electric vehicle sales fell nearly 40% in November after a $7,500 consumer tax credit expired on Sept. 30, spurring demand growth for more than 15 years. The Trump administration also included in a major tax and spending bill that passed in July a freeze on fines carmakers pay for violating fuel-economy regulations.
“Instead of spending billions more on big EVs that have no way to make a profit, we’re allocating that money to areas with higher returns,” said Andrew Frick, head of Ford’s gas and electric vehicle operations.
