Ford On Board with Biden’s 2030 EV Sales Goal
This week, President Joe Biden announced a goal that 50 percent of all new vehicles sold in the United States by 2030 be emissions-free electrified vehicles. He was joined on the White House lawn by, among others, Ford Motor Company CEO Jim Farley, who said in a statement that the automaker is “well-positioned” to meet that target.
Get Ready: The all-electric 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning looks to change the game next spring
“Ford is on an ambitious trajectory to lead the electrification revolution — from being the only full-line American automaker to side with California in favor of stricter greenhouse gas emissions to electrifying our most iconic and popular vehicles, like the F-150 Lightning, Mustang Mach-E, and E-Transit,” said Farley. “Customer demand has exceeded our expectations.”
Ford has not yet set a firm 2030 target for electrified vehicle sales in the United States. The automaker is, however, targeting 100 percent all-electric passenger vehicle sales in Europe and 40 percent global EV sales by that time. Ford’s luxury brand, Lincoln, is also targeting 2030 for a complete lineup overall with four new EVs.
Biden’s goal includes battery electric vehicles as well as plug-in hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
“The future of the American auto industry is electric,” Biden said. “It is electric; there’s no turning back.”
Ford sales, reservations reflect interest in electrified vehicles
Photo: Ford
Proving Farley’s point of high demand, July marked another month of impressive growth in the sale of electrified Ford vehicles. Sales of the company’s electrified vehicles increased 57.5 percent at a total of 9,103, powered by hot new products like the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 PowerBoost Hybrid.
Also in high demand: the all-electric F-150 Lightning and Maverick, which have both pulled in incredible reservation numbers since debuting. To date, Ford has garnered more than 120,000 reservations for the F-150 Lightning and 80,000 reservations for the Maverick, which will be the only truck to offer a standard hybrid engine when it arrives in the fall. Ford also says 20,000 customers have reserved the new E-Transit electric van.
Ford F-150 Lightning, E-Transit have a big day at the Capitol
Photo: Ford
Farley wasn’t the only representative from Ford in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. As part of the announcement, the Ford F-150 Lightning and E-Transit both posted up on the West Front lawn of the U.S. Capitol. There, members of the House and Senate checked out the electric vehicles throughout the day.
The F-150 Lightning and Transit also made an appearance on the rooftop of 101 Constitution Avenue at the close of the day’s events. At the event, Ford representatives like new head of policy Steven Crowley met with Senators and Representatives including Michigan’s Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), and Haley Stevens (D-MI).
This was not the first time a politician had the chance to experience the F-150 Lightning, either. Back in May, Biden got an exclusive sneak peek at the F-150 Lightning the day prior to its big reveal. During a visit of Ford’s new Rouge Electric Vehicle Center, the president tested out the truck’s 0-60 acceleration. In addition to almost accurately guessing that the truck goes from 0-60 mph in the mid-four-second range, he remarked: “This sucker’s quick.”
Another Quick Sucker: 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E offers power and speed that live up to the name
Musk salty over Tesla White House snub
Joining Farley on the White House lawn Thursday were General Motors CEO Mary Barra and Stellantis COO Mark Stewart. Some noted the conspicuous absence of Elon Musk, whose Tesla is the current leader in EV sales for the United States.
Musk took to Twitter, as he too often does, saying “seems odd that Tesla wasn’t invited.”
Asked about the situation, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that Ford, GM, and Stellantis were represented because they are the largest employers of members of the United Auto Workers. Musk is openly anti-union and was recently ordered by the National Labor Relations Board to delete a tweet seemingly aimed at intimidating labor organizers.
“We, of course, welcome the efforts of all automakers who recognize the potential of an electric vehicle future and support efforts that will help reach the president’s goal, and certainly, Tesla is one of those companies,” Psaki said.
When asked in a follow-up question if Tesla’s non-invite was due to the company’s lack of a union, Psaki said: “Well, these are the three largest employers of the United Auto Workers, so I’ll let you draw your own conclusion.”
Current UAW President Ray Curry backed this sentiment in a statement, saying: “While the UAW notes that the companies have made voluntary commitments on electric vehicles, the UAW focus is not on hard deadlines or percentages, but on preserving the wages and benefits that have been the heart and soul of the American middle class.
In 2019, the NLRB ruled that Tesla illegally fired an employee for attempting to organize. Musk in 2018 tweeted “why pay union dues & give up stock options for nothing,” which NLRB deemed an unlawful attempt at coercing employees not to unionize.
Musk has also come under fire for using his Twitter account to spread COVID-19 misinformation and downplay the seriousness of the virus, which has killed 4.27 million people around the world as of Friday.
Ford will spend more on electrified vehicles than ICE vehicles in 2023
Photo: Ford
Days before Biden’s announcement at the White House, Ford revealed that it intends to spend more money on electrified vehicles than on vehicles solely with internal combustion engines by 2023.
Company COO Lisa Drake spoke with Barclays analyst Brian Johnson this past Monday and revealed Ford’s plans to allot more finances for EVs than ICE vehicles in just two years.
“We’ve been over the moon about the success of Mach-E, and the F-150 Lightning, by bringing in over 70 percent new customers to the Ford brand,” Drake said. “Now we have an opportunity not only to lead on our ICE business, but also in the EV space with F-150. So our aspirations are high.”
Ford is investing $30 billion in electrified vehicles through 2025. Upcoming products that fit into Ford’s electrification plans include announced EV versions of the Explorer and Lincoln Aviator and hybrid and possibly electric variants of the popular new Bronco.
Kyle S. Johnson lives in Cincinnati, a city known by many as “the Cincinnati of Southwest Ohio.” He enjoys professional wrestling, Halloween, and also other things. He has been writing for a while, and he plans to continue to write well into the future. See more articles by Kyle.