For years we were told that the electric car was the most immediate future and we believed it. We believed that anyone who did not get on this train would be left out of the market. But what is happening now? Ford has just admitted that it has lost more than 35,000 million dollars by betting too heavily on electric vehicles. Everything seemed like it was going to be “the perfect move” and it has ended up being one of the biggest stumbles in the modern industry. And this is not an isolated case. What if the immediate future is not electrification?
The big hit
Since 2022, Ford has been losing money. Specifically, that year it lost 2.2 billion dollars, in 2023, 4.7 billion, in 2024, 5.1 billion. And during 2025 it has risen to 3,6000 million dollars. It is clear that they did not know how to read the market or that they bet too hard where they should not have. The reality is that Ford has been losing money for almost five years and its profits have been rather scarce.
And the red numbers have ended up eclipsing the profits that the brand still gets from its traditional combustion models, the “real” vans and trucks. So they have had to face reality because they had no other choice. They were too optimistic when betting on the electric sector.
They crashed into the real market
Ford invested billions in factories, batteries, electric platforms, and new models, all believing that consumers would jump fully into electric vehicles overnight. But the market does not work like that, they should already know it, and the pace of sales was nowhere near what they needed to justify that spending. The economic situation, both nationally and globally, did not help either, nor did battery related problems.
More expensive than they seem
Manufacturing an electric car is still very expensive. The issue of batteries is what worries consumers the most, and this is where Chinese competition comes in, with cars that work better and are much cheaper.
And seeing the situation like this, we can understand how Ford ended up losing tens of thousands of dollars for each electric vehicle sold.
Ford’s customer was not there
To buy a car, many things are needed, and one of them is winning over buyers. Ford has always been synonymous with hard work and reliability, but the reality is that its electric cars have not been the most attractive in the sector. Very slow charging, quite poor infrastructure, and very high prices have not helped either. The electric car does not fit the profile of Ford buyers, or at least not for now.
Another elephant in the room is charging, or rather, the lack of it. Chargers that do not work, queues, endless waiting times, and a range that does not convince anyone.
A reality check
The consequences did not take long. Ford has had to cut production, cancel projects, halt battery plants, and lay off many workers. Hard decisions, but inevitable when the numbers do not add up.
At the same time, the company has announced that it will change strategy. Less “all electric” and more hybrids, more affordable models, more technology that the market is willing to buy today, not in ten years.
An abandonment of electric vehicles?
For now, no. It is more like hitting the snooze button. And they are not the only ones. Other manufacturers are also doing it and revising their goals, adjusting them to the reality of the market, because as you know, the market rules. It is clear that technology must adapt to real demand, otherwise it can end up generating multi billion dollar debts. It also needs time and common sense, and Ford has paid a very high price for forgetting that last detail. It is clear that this is not a goodbye to electrification, but it is also clear that they have learned the lesson by losing money, like everyone else.