Robust demand for ICE models is helping Ford through the expensive build-up of its electric car business. Buoyed by second-quarter results, the US automaker raised its full-year guidance for operating profit.
In the past quarter, the electric car division posted an operating loss of almost $1.1 billion on $1.8 billion in sales. Meanwhile, the Ford Blue combustion engine division had operating income of $2.3 billion on sales of $25 billion. The commercial vehicle business was even more lucrative: an increase of 2.4 billion dollars with sales of 15.6 billion dollars.
Like other car companies, Ford is trying to gain a stronger foothold in the electric car business, which has so far been dominated by Tesla. In the US, this competition is reaching the most popular class of vehicles – large pickups. Tesla is ramping up production of the “Cybertruck” electric pickup, and Ford is selling an electric version of its best-selling F-150, albeit in small numbers.
Overall, Ford’s second-quarter sales rose 12 percent year-on-year to nearly $45 billion. Profits jumped from $667 million to around $1.92 billion. The group is now expecting an operating result of between eleven and twelve billion dollars for the current year. Previously, the range was nine to eleven billion dollars.
