Ford president on when EVs could be available in $25K price range
Ford wants to produce 2M EVs a year globally by the end of 2026
Ford president reveals plans for EV production growth
Ford President Kumar Galhotra explains what it would take to get the cost of an electric vehicle down for consumers.
Ford President Kumar Galhotra provided insight into when the $25,000 price point for an electric vehicle could be available to the consumer and explained what is needed to achieve that goal.
Galhotra told "Varney & Co." on Thursday that he expects that consumers can expect that price point for an EV in "the latter part of this decade."
"All of us would have installed sufficient capacity for electric vehicles and the technology costs would be coming down, battery costs will be coming down," he explained.
Galhotra also noted that Ford is installing more capacity for the Ford F-150 Lightning, which uses zero gas and has zero tailpipe emissions, according to the company. He argued that the move to increase capacity for the all-new electric vehicle in Ohio will "help with the pricing."
RECORD GAS PRICES FOR THIS LONG ‘UNPRECEDENTED’: AAA
Ford wants to produce 2 million electric vehicles every year globally by the end of 2026 as inflation sits near 40-year highs. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski / AP Newsroom)
Galhotra provided the insight speaking from Ohio following Ford’s announcement that the company plans to invest $3.7 billion and add more than 6,200 new union manufacturing jobs in Michigan, Ohio and Missouri. The company noted that the new jobs are expected to create about 74,000 indirect new employment opportunities in America by the end of 2026.
On Thursday, Ford also announced its goal of producing 2 million electric vehicles a year globally by the end of 2026 and noted that the company’s investment and jobs will support that strategy.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | FORD MOTOR CO. | 12.06 | +0.02 | +0.17% |
Host Stuart Varney asked Galhotra whether Ford can get all the resources the company needs to achieve that goal given the semiconductor chip shortage and supply chain issues weighing on the auto industry.
Galhotra responded by saying that the goal will "absolutely" be achieved and that "we are working on that entire supply chain from the raw materials to battery cells."
He noted that the company’s joint ventures to build batteries and the capacity increase as well as the increase in investment announced on Thursday will help the company move towards achieving that goal.
Ford confirmed on Thursday that an all-new electric commercial vehicle produced in Ohio will debut in the middle of the decade.
Electric vehicles have been gaining in popularity recently, especially as inflation sits near 40-year highs and as gas prices continue to break records.
According to AAA, the national average for a gallon of gas was $4.71 on Thursday, slightly higher than the day before and an increase of more than 50 cents compared to the month before.
Last month it was revealed that inflation cooled on an annual basis for the first time in months in April, but rose more than expected as supply chain constraints, the Russian war in Ukraine and strong consumer demand continued to keep consumer prices elevated.
Ford president: EVs could be available in $25K price range
Ford President Kumar Galhotra provides insight into when that price point could be available to the consumer and what it would entail to make that happen.
The Labor Department said last month that the consumer price index, a broad measure of the price for everyday goods including gasoline, groceries and rents, rose 8.3% in April from a year ago, below the 8.5% year-over-year surge recorded in March. Prices jumped 0.3% in the one-month period from March.
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Those figures were both higher than the 8.1% headline figure and 0.2% monthly gain forecast by Refinitiv economists.
The inflation data for May will be released next Friday.