Ford predicts $3B pretax loss in EV business this year

By Michael Elkins 

Ford Motor Company (NYSE:) is scheduled to hold a mid-morning briefing with investors and analysts on Thursday. However, before the meeting, the company revealed that they expect their electric vehicle business unit to lose $3 billion this year, but remains on track to achieve a pretax margin of 8% by late 2026.

The briefing is being held to discuss the American automaker’s new financial reporting format. Starting with first quarter results, which will be announced on May 2, Ford will begin reporting by business unit for Model e (electric vehicles), Blue (combustion vehicles) and Pro (commercial vehicles and services).

CFO John Lawler said Ford no longer will break out financial results by region, only by business unit, because “that’s how we’re running the company now.”

“We’ve essentially ‘refounded’ Ford, with business segments that provide new degrees of strategic clarity, insight and accountability to the Ford+ plan for growth and value,” Lawler said in a statement. “It’s not only about changing how we report financial results; we’re transforming how we think, make decisions and run the company, and allocate capital for highest returns.”

Ford projects Model e’s cumulative three-year loss from 2021-2023 at $6B, including a pro-forma loss last year of $2.1B, but expects the unit to be profitable on a pretax basis before the end of 2026.

The company expects its Ford Pro commercial vehicle business to nearly double pretax profit this year to $6B, while the traditional Ford Blue business should see a modest increase to $7 billion.

Lawler reaffirmed the company’s target of a 10% adjusted EBIT margin by late 2026.

He said the automaker will have the global capacity to build 600,000 electric vehicles by the end of 2023 and 2 million by late 2026 – “and we intend to fully use that capacity.”

Shares of F are up 1.74% in pre-market trading on Thursday.