Ford Motor Co. revealed Monday that it would take a $19.5 billion writedown after choosing to discontinue several electric vehicle models.
The Michigan-based company intends to replace its all-electric F-150 Lightning pickups with an extended-range version that uses a gasoline engine for battery recharging. Ford is also stopping production on a forthcoming electric truck, called T3 in international markets, along with electric vans designed for commercial use.
“When the market really changed over the last couple of months, that was really the impetus for us to make the call,” Ford CEO Jim Farley told Reuters in an interview.
Ford intends to focus on gasoline and hybrid options, anticipating adding thousands of employees over time, though some positions will be eliminated in the short term at a Kentucky battery facility of which it is a co-owner. The company foresees hybrids, extended-range electrics, and full EVs as comprising half of its worldwide sales by 2030, up from 17 percent at present….