Ford Refines Ford+ Strategy to Drive Profitable Growth Through Customer-Centric Investments
Ford Motor Company has unveiled a comprehensive strategic reset designed to sharpen execution of its Ford+ plan, redeploy capital toward higher-return opportunities, and align more closely with evolving customer demand. The updated strategy reflects a decisive shift toward profitability, flexibility, and long-term resilience as the automaker balances internal combustion engines, hybrids, extended-range electrification, and emerging energy storage opportunities.
At the core of Ford’s latest actions is a disciplined reallocation of resources away from electric vehicle programs with deteriorating business cases and toward segments where the company sees sustainable demand, stronger margins, and competitive advantage. These include Ford’s iconic trucks and vans franchise, its rapidly growing hybrid portfolio, and the launch of a new battery energy storage business targeting grid-scale and industrial applications.
A Customer-Driven Strategic Pivot
Ford’s leadership emphasized that the changes are grounded in market realities rather than ideological shifts. Slower-than-anticipated adoption of certain large electric vehicles, combined with elevated battery costs, pricing pressure, and regulatory uncertainty, has prompted the company to exit or reshape select EV programs. At the same time, customer interest in affordable vehicles, flexible powertrains, and work-ready trucks and vans remains robust.
“This is a customer-driven shift to create a stronger, more resilient, and more profitable Ford,” said President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Farley. “The operating reality has changed, and we are redeploying capital into higher-return growth opportunities: Ford Pro, our market-leading trucks and vans, hybrids, and high-margin opportunities like our new battery energy storage business.”
The updated approach prioritizes affordability, choice, and profitability. Ford will significantly expand its powertrain mix, offering customers a wider range of gasoline, hybrid, extended-range electric, and fully electric options depending on vehicle segment and use case. Pure battery-electric vehicle development will increasingly focus on smaller, lower-cost models built on a flexible new architecture.
Clear Path to EV Profitability
A central objective of the revised plan is to put Ford’s Model e electric vehicle business on a credible path to profitability by 2029, with targeted year-over-year financial improvements beginning in 2026. Ford also expects the actions to enhance earnings in its Ford Blue and Ford Pro segments over time, with early benefits anticipated as soon as 2026.
As part of this reset, Ford expects to record approximately $19.5 billion in special items, the majority of which will be recognized in the fourth quarter of 2025. The remainder will be spread across 2026 and 2027. Cash impacts are expected to total about $5.5 billion, with most of those outflows occurring in 2026 and the balance in 2027.
Despite these charges, Ford underscored that the strategy strengthens its long-term financial position while preserving investment capacity for growth areas.
Commitment to U.S. Jobs and Manufacturing
To support its evolving product and manufacturing strategy, Ford and its subsidiaries plan to hire thousands of workers across the United States. The company reaffirmed its position as the largest employer of U.S. hourly autoworkers and highlighted its continued commitment to American manufacturing.
By repurposing and retooling existing facilities rather than building entirely new plants, Ford aims to improve capital efficiency while maintaining flexibility to respond to market shifts.
Four Strategic Pillars Define the Evolved Plan
Ford’s updated roadmap is anchored in four core pillars that together define its vision for profitable, customer-aligned growth.
Expanding Customer Choice Across Gas, Hybrid, and Affordable EV Platforms
Ford expects electrified vehicles—including hybrids, extended-range EVs, and fully electric models—to account for approximately 50% of its global volume by 2030, up from about 17% in 2025. Importantly, this growth will be driven by affordability and versatility rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.
In North America, Ford will concentrate its electric vehicle development on a new low-cost, highly flexible Universal EV Platform. This next-generation architecture is engineered to support a family of smaller, efficient, and affordable EVs designed to appeal to a broad customer base rather than niche early adopters.
The first vehicle based on the Universal EV Platform will be a fully connected midsize pickup truck, scheduled for assembly at the Louisville Assembly Plant beginning in 2027. The model is expected to combine modern digital features with cost discipline and practical capability.
Hybrid Expansion and Extended-Range Solutions
Hybrids play a central role in Ford’s future portfolio. The company plans to expand its hybrid offerings across multiple vehicle categories, tailoring solutions to different customer needs and duty cycles. These will include fuel-efficient hybrids, performance-oriented hybrids, and hybrid systems with exportable power for work and recreational use.
For larger trucks and SUVs, Ford is recalibrating its electrification strategy to better reflect customer expectations around towing, payload, and range. This includes introducing extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) options that pair electric drivetrains with onboard range-extending technology.
One of the most notable examples is the next-generation F-150 Lightning. Rather than continuing with a pure battery-electric configuration, the future Lightning will transition to an EREV architecture and be assembled at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan. Production of the current-generation Lightning has concluded as Ford redeploys workers to support increased production of gas and hybrid F-150 models.
“The F-150 Lightning proved that an electric pickup can still be a great F-Series,” said Doug Field, Ford’s chief EV, digital, and design officer. “Our next-generation Lightning EREV keeps everything customers love—instant electric power and rapid acceleration—while delivering an estimated 700-plus miles of range and exceptional towing capability.”
Commercial Vehicles and Global Adjustments
Ford also announced changes to its commercial vehicle plans. The company will no longer proceed with a previously planned new electric commercial van for Europe, though it will continue offering a full lineup of electrified vans in that market. In North America, a planned electric commercial van will be replaced with a new, more affordable gas- and hybrid-powered model to better meet customer needs. This vehicle will be manufactured at Ford’s Ohio Assembly Plant.
By the end of the decade, Ford expects nearly every vehicle in its portfolio to offer a hybrid or multi-energy powertrain option. The company plans to launch five new affordable vehicles by 2030, four of which will be built in the United States.
Reinforcing Truck and Van Leadership Through U.S. Production
Ford’s second strategic pillar centers on expanding its leadership in trucks and vans through renewed investment in U.S. manufacturing.
At the BlueOval City campus in Tennessee, the Tennessee Electric Vehicle Center will be renamed the Tennessee Truck Plant. Beginning in 2029, the facility will produce all-new Built Ford Tough truck models, broadening the company’s truck lineup with affordable, gas-powered offerings. These models will replace a previously planned next-generation electric truck.
Meanwhile, Ford’s Ohio Assembly Plant will become a key hub for Ford Pro, assembling the new gas- and hybrid-powered commercial van alongside Super Duty chassis cabs. This move strengthens Ford’s already dominant position in the commercial vehicle segment while improving manufacturing utilization.
Launching a New Battery Energy Storage Business
In a significant diversification move, Ford is launching a dedicated battery energy storage systems (BESS) business to address surging demand from data centers, utilities, and industrial customers supporting grid reliability and electrification.
The company will repurpose existing battery manufacturing capacity in Glendale, Kentucky, to produce advanced energy storage systems. Ford plans to invest approximately $2 billion over the next two years to scale the business and bring initial capacity online within 18 months.
The Kentucky facility will manufacture lithium iron phosphate (LFP) prismatic cells, battery modules, and large 20-foot DC containerized systems exceeding 5 MWh. Ford expects to deploy at least 20 GWh of energy storage capacity annually by late 2027.
Recent joint venture agreements will result in a Ford subsidiary independently owning and operating the Kentucky battery plants, while SK On will fully own and operate the Tennessee battery facility. Separately, BlueOval Battery Park Michigan will produce smaller cells for residential energy storage beginning in 2026.
Advancing Sustainability and Long-Term Value
Ford reiterated that the strategy aligns with its commitment to achieve carbon neutrality across vehicles, manufacturing, and its supply chain by 2050. The company continues to invest in cleaner manufacturing processes, sustainable sourcing, and technologies that reduce lifecycle emissions.
Reflecting strong underlying business performance and cost improvements, Ford raised its 2025 adjusted EBIT guidance to approximately $7 billion. The company reaffirmed its adjusted free cash flow guidance of $2 billion to $3 billion, now trending toward the higher end of the range.
Together, the actions mark a pivotal evolution of Ford’s strategy—one focused less on headlines and more on durable profitability, customer choice, and disciplined growth across mobility and energy.
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