As Ford loses billions on EVs, the company embraces hybrids

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Ford Motor Co. displays a new 2021 Ford F-150 pickup truck at the Rouge Complex in Dearborn, Michigan, Sept. 17, 2020. Heads up, hybrid fans: Ford Motor is working on a whole bunch of new hybrid models. "You're going to see a lot more hybrid systems from us," CEO Jim Farley said Thursday after the company reported second-quarter earnings that revealed widening losses on its electric vehicles unit. The comments run slightly counter to recent messaging from the Detroit automakers, which have touted the performance and popularity of all-electric favorites as the industry moves to meet EV targets. The hybrid hype, however, falls more closely in line with global hybrid leader Toyota , which has faced criticism for what some saw as resistance to the EV transition. To be clear, Ford isn't turning away from its much-touted EV push, though it said Thursday that its EV ramp-up may take longer than it had previously anticipated. But even as it spends billions to ramp up EV production, it's planning to bring more hybrid options to market, driven by the success of its current gasoline-electric options. "We have been surprised, frankly, at the popularity of hybrid systems for F-150," Farley said during Ford's second-quarter earnings call. More than 10% of F-150 pickup customers are opting for the hybrid model, Farley said, and that percentage has been increasing. Ford also offers a hybrid version of its small Maverick pickup. That has been an even greater success, Farley said, with more than half of Maverick buyers — 56% — choosing the $1,500 optional hybrid powertrain over the standard four-cylinder engine. But why double down on hybrids just as the industry is making a big push toward pure EVs? "What the customer really likes is when we take a hybrid system that's more efficient for certain duty cycles and then we add new capabilities because of the batteries," Farley said. Among those new capabilities: Ford's "Pro Power Onboard" system, which gives customers the ability to tap the truck's electricity via outlets in the pickup bed to power tools at a job site — or a refrigerator at a tailgate party — eliminating the need to carry a separate generator.