Copying Toyota, Ford Is Now More Focused On Production Of Hybrid Vehicles

Production of the Ford F-150 Lightning is now reduced at thetenuary EV Factory. (Doc. Ford)

JAKARTA - Ford plans to shift its focus on electric vehicle production by switching to a hybrid model, a similar move like Toyota did.

Quoted from the Electrek page, Friday, December 29, although Ford's electric vehicle sales hit a new record with 8,958 electric vehicles sold in November, the automaker began reducing its sales.

From data on sales of electric cars in the US, Ford was quite successful in November 2023 by selling around 4,393 units of the F-150 Lightning model or more than the entire third quarter of only 3,503 units. This success puts Lightning ahead of R1T Rivian for the best-selling electric truck position throughout November.

Ford CEO Jim Farley also explained to the company's third-quarter earnings report that the market period continues to change.

Meanwhile, John Lawler, CFO Ford said the company would slow down some investments, including spending on electric vehicles of around $12 billion.

He further said the company did not change its strategy but changed the speed and flow of capital and capacity. This includes cutting production plans at the Marshall plant by about half, reducing inverter and motor capacities, and withdrawing plans for vertical integration.

Lawler also said his company would rely on hybrid vehicles as a "bridge" to electric vehicles.

"Being a little complacent with hybrid vehicles," he said, as reported on the Electrek website.

He said hybrid vehicles have always been a big part of the automotive segment, this can be seen from the slow adoption of electric vehicles.

"When EV adoption is slow, hybrid vehicles play a big role," concluded Lawler.