Ford suffered a loss of € 1.08 billion in 2020. At the same time, the American carmaker is announcing more than doubling its planned investment in EVs.
According to the company, the significant loss of Ford is due to the consequences of the coronavirus outbreak. As a result, the production and sale of cars has to take a considerable blow. Compared to 2019, the annual turnover in 2020 also decreased by 18 percent to € 106 billion. While some other brands were able to catch up in the second half of the year, Ford recorded a loss of € 2.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020. This is mainly due to recalls and costly product launches, such as the Mustang Mach-E and the new F-150.
In Europe, however, Ford posted a gross profit of € 345 million. This is striking since Ford has also had the necessary setbacks here, in particular due to the recall of the Kuga PHEV. According to Ford, the profit is mainly due to a successful restructuring, which reduced annual fixed costs by € 918 million.
To invest
In the annual financial report, Ford further indicates that it will increase its planned investment in EVs by 2025 to € 18.3 billion. Previously, this was converted € 9.2 billion. In addition, Ford is investing € 5.8 billion in autonomous driving over the same time frame. The electric F-150 is likely to play an important role for Ford in the short term. After all, the pick-up is still America’s best-selling car. The unveiling of the full-size plugger is not long in coming.