Analyst: Ford pivots to hybrids after being overly optimistic on EVs and suffering $2.5B loss

FOX 2 - Another bump in the road for one of Detroit’s Big Three. On Wednesday the Ford Motor Company says it’s changing directions on some of its electric vehicle plans.

The automaker said it’s tapping the brake on EV spending and temporarily stopping production on an all-new electric pickup.

It comes as Ford could lose up to $5 billion in its EV business for the second straight year. When it comes to success in electric vehicles, maybe ford was a bit too ambitious.

"What you have is an industry that was maybe a bit over optimistic when it came to the adoption of electric vehicles," said Jeff Gilbert, WWJ 950 automotive reporter.

FOX 2: "What do moves like this mean for the workforce?"

"What they mean for the workforce is that Ford is probably going to need more people than they anticipated on the gasoline side of the business. Probably not as many as they anticipated on the electric side."

Gilbert says Ford has announced it’s lost $2.5 billion in EV profits.  The auto giant could lose another $2.5 billion by the end of 2024.

Related: Ford to no longer build electric three-row SUV, shifting focus toward hybrids

That’s on top of the nearly $5 billion lost on EVs last year. Reports say Ford initially invested $30 billion to go electric.

Gilbert says — that’s not to say EVs aren’t the future.  It still is, but he says the future isn’t now.

"With consumers, we’re seeing more and more interest in hybrids," Gilbert said. "Because hybrids give you a lot better fuel economy, but you don’t have to worry about plugging in. You can fill them up with gasoline."

FOX 2: "What does success look like for these Big 3 companies when it comes to EVs?"

"At this particular point, they’ve got to make a lot of money on an F-150 to offset the money they’re losing on an EV," Gilbert said. "So success will be when they’re making that kind of profit on an electric vehicle along with a gasoline vehicle or instead of a gasoline vehicle.

"We’re still a long way from that."

It proves the race for EV is a marathon, not a sprint.