The EV Race Heats Up

Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Farley says he hopes to overtake Tesla in U.S. electric-vehicle sales, but first he hopes to overtake GM.

“We really have a chance to get to No. 1,” Farley said an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “Balance of Power With David Westin.” “We’re competitors, and I race, and second is the first loser. So, we’re going to go for it.”

Farley announced Ford will boost production to 600,000 EVs within two years, putting the automaker in the second position.

He reported that meeting EV goals will require the company to double capacity again at its Dearborn, Michigan, EV factory to build 160,000 electric F-150 Lightning pickups annually. Ford recently stopped taking orders for the plug-in pickup when they reached 200,000.

The automaker also will boost capacity at the electric Mustang Mach-E factory in Mexico. Ford delayed the launch of its battery-powered Explorer SUV to focus on increasing production of top sellers, Farley said. The company also had planned to build the electric Explorer and Lincoln in Mexico, but is instead devoting the entire factory to the electric Mustang Mach-E.

“We really need to prioritize,” Farley said. “We’re now going to be doubling production of the Mach-E. Now we have to find another place for other vehicles to be built.”

Farley admits his ambition to top Tesla will take longer, but expressed confidence that Ford can get there.

LMC Automotive reports Tesla dominates the U.S. EV market and forecasts the company will control two-thirds of EV sales this year. The firm projects Ford will end 2021 in fourth place behind Volkswagen AG and GM.
Overtaking Tesla may be an uphill climb as Tesla opens a massive new factory near Austin, Texas. The EV automaker also has a new plant coming online in Berlin and expects to have over 1 million units of global EV capacity.

LMC forecasts Tesla will sell over 375,000 EVs in the U.S. in 2024, over twice what the firm predicts Ford will sell by then. LMC expects GM to be second to Tesla by 2024, with Ford in the third position.