Business & Economics
Ford Takes $19.5 B Hit, Axes F-150 Lightning to Pivot Toward Hybrids
On 16 Dec 2025 Ford announced a $19.5 billion impairment and cancelled multiple battery-electric programs—including the F-150 Lightning pickup—in order to redirect capital to hybrids, extended-range EVs and smaller affordable BEVs.
Focusing Facts
- The writedown breaks down to $8.5 billion for scrapped EV models, $6 billion for dissolving the BlueOval-SK battery joint venture, and $5 billion in related program costs.
- Ford sold only 25,583 F-150 Lightnings in the U.S. through November 2025, roughly 10 % fewer than the prior year despite 200,000 initial reservations.
- Ford now targets 50 % of global sales to be hybrids, EREVs or BEVs by 2030, up from 17 % in 2025.
Context
Detroit’s abrupt U-turn recalls the 1974–78 scramble for compact cars after the first oil shock—quickly abandoned once fuel prices eased—and GM’s 1999 cancellation of the EV1; both episodes show how U.S. auto strategy whipsaws with policy and price signals rather than technological readiness. The longer arc is clear: electrification is advancing, but legacy firms remain burdened by sunk ICE assets and fickle U.S. incentives, while Chinese makers mix PHEVs and EREVs without ideological hang-ups. Ford’s retreat may delay, not derail, the 100-year shift from combustion to electrons; yet it underscores that, absent stable regulation and charging infrastructure, the path will be jagged and dominated by players able to profit through each transition phase—potentially giving pure-play EV or Asian hybrid specialists a strategic edge by mid-century.
Perspectives
Right-leaning media
e.g., National Review — Ford’s $19.5 billion writedown proves the top-down EV push is failing and hybrids are the practical, market-led path forward. Echoing long-held ideological opposition to climate-driven mandates, the coverage highlights every EV stumble while ignoring signs of ongoing clean-tech growth to validate smaller-government, fossil-fuel-friendly arguments.
Green-energy and climate-focused outlets
e.g., The Driven — Ford’s retreat is a startling, policy-driven backslide that undermines the global transition to zero-emission transport and shows how Trump-era rollbacks distort the market. By stressing political blame and using emotive language like “turn tail,” the reporting risks downplaying legitimate demand and cost hurdles while protecting the narrative that full electrification is inevitable and urgent.
Tesla-centric tech-futurist outlets
e.g., Next Big Future, Asianet News — Ford’s scaling-back is welcome news because it leaves Tesla with less competition and validates the superiority of pure-play EV makers. Their investor-style enthusiasm for Tesla can lead to selective focus on competitive wins and scant attention to macro-level EV headwinds, inflating expectations for Tesla’s dominance.