Ford’s CEO Sees Trump Policies Cutting US EV Market in Half

Ford Motor Co.’s leader warned of a bleak outlook for electric vehicles as President Donald Trump’s policies breathe new life into gas-powered cars.

The elimination of a $7,500 consumer tax credit and softening of emissions rules will sharply curtail EV demand in the US, according to Chief Executive Officer Jim Farley. He predicted the share of zero-emission vehicles — currently around 10% of the domestic market — could fall by half.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if EV sales in the US go down to 5%,” he said Tuesday in a speech in Detroit at a conference Ford is hosting on blue-collar jobs. The EV market will be “way smaller than we thought.”

The blunt assessment underscored the rapidly changing dynamics for the auto industry under Trump, with many major manufacturers delaying EV production plans and redeploying investment dollars to internal-combustion-engine and hybrid vehicles. Ford has emphasized consumer choice in fuel types while shifting its EV strategy to one around lower-cost vehicles.

Ford’s electric vehicle unit, Model-e, lost about $1.3 billion in the second quarter and the company has forecast that it could lose as much as $5.5 billion on EVs this year. Its US EV sales plunged 31% in the quarter, hurt by aging models and a temporary halt in sales of the electric Mustang Mach-e due to a safety recall.

Farley on Tuesday said he sees more opportunity in “partial electrification,” such as gas-electric hybrids. He believes pure EVs are best suited for commuter vehicles that make “short runs” and account for only 5% to 7% of the market.

He said Ford is looking to add hybrid production to its battery and EV plants.

“We have to make these partial electric vehicles in the factories that would have been EVs,” Farley said. “What do we do with all these battery plants? And we will fill them, but it will be more stress” because of policy changes from the Trump administration.

Top photo: A Ford F-150 Lightning Platinum electric pickup truck during the Montreal Electric Vehicle Show in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on Friday, May 2, 2025.