Ford CEO says electric vehicles provoking 'charging anxiety'
Ford is expected to produce 600,000 electric vehicles per year by 2024
We don't want to see a strike, but we're prepared to strike if we have to: Jim Farley
Ford CEO Jim Farley discusses ongoing talks between the UAW and the Big Three automakers as a potential strike looms on 'Special Report.'
The CEO of one of the country’s biggest car manufacturers explained why electric vehicles (EVs) may not be a lightning hit for consumers.
"We’re going into the mass consumers who have a lot of charging anxiety," Ford CEO Jim Farley warned when explaining the growing push for EVs.
Farley joined "Special Report" on Tuesday to discuss the EV push as demand for the greener alternative has yet to peak.
"They [consumers] don’t have range anxiety, they have charging anxiety," Farley stressed again.
An electric vehicle is charged at the Golf Mill Ford dealership in Niles, Illinois, on July 18, 2023. (Scott Olson/Getty Images / Getty Images)
The Ford CEO also suggested that consumers are "not willing to pay a premium" for electric vehicles, despite more being offered in today’s market.
"Some customers who have the right duty cycle are really interested, but the price premium that we see a year ago is not there today," he continued.
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Ford Motor Company announced that it is projected to lose $4.5 billion from electric vehicles this year, despite increased revenue.
The U.S.-based automaker's EV division, called "Ford Model e," has lost $1.8 billion so far this year, according to Fortune.
"We’re going to offer customers a choice. We’re going to have a growth story for all three of our businesses, including our pro-business, and we’ll have the customer choose," Farley told Fox News’ Bret Baier.
"The F-150 Lightning is the best-selling electric pickup in the U.S. and for those customers, it works great, but it’s not for everyone," he continued.
Ford Motor Co. battery powered F-150 Lightning trucks under production at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan. (JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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Last year, President Biden invited executives from the nation’s largest automakers to the White House to discuss his ambitious agenda for EVs.
In April of this year, the White House introduced its blueprint for the EV Acceleration Challenge as part of the president’s goal of having 50% of all new vehicle sales be electric by 2030.
"As the company with the most autoworkers in the U.S., we talk deeply about their [government] vision and our vision for EVs," the CEO expressed.
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"We think EVs could be 30, 40, 50% of our business. We just don’t actually know," he stressed.
As the automaker grapples with the industry’s EV trend, its F-150 continues to reign supreme among buyers.
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It's the "No. 1 vehicle in our country on sales for 41 years," Farley said, adding that the truck is a "huge, important product" for the company and the U.S. economy.
"We have a hybrid version which we think will be about 20% of sales. Maybe the best-selling hybrid in the U.S. could be an F-150 hybrid," Farley continued.
Ford is expected to produce 600,000 EVs per year by 2024.
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FOX Business’ Andrea Vacchiano and Gary Gastelu contributed to this report.