Ford expects $3 billion in losses from electric vehicle business unit this year

Ford Motor Company said Thursday it expects to lose $3 billion from its electric vehicle business unit this year.

However, the U.S. automaker said it nevertheless expects to have an 8% return on electric vehicles by 2026.

Ford said it was overall able to make slightly more in 2022 than the year before, with before-tax profits of $10.4 billion versus 10 billion.

Most of the profit came from the United States, where it earned $9.2 billion compared to $7.4 billion in 2021. The company also earned roughly $400 million in South America, broke even in Europe and lost $600 million in China last year.

Ford, which is one of the Big Three U.S. automobile manufacturers alongside General Motors and Chrysler, has invested billions in the electric vehicle market.

Ford has shown signs of problems in its electric vehicle unit as it raised the price of its F150 Lightning electric pickup truck multiple times.

The truck was originally listed at just over $39,000 in May 2021, but prices rose to $56,000 by December 2022.

The price increases more than cancel out the $7,500 federal electric vehicle tax credit offered under the Inflation Reduction Act last year.

The company said Tuesday it hopes to lower electric vehicle battery costs by producing more components independently and creating new chemistries in the batteries, Reuters reported.