Ford is slowing down on electric vehicles — and going all-in on hybrids

By the end of the decade, Ford expects to offer hybrid versions of its entire Ford Blue lineup in North America. Hybrid sales shot up 42% in the first quarter of 2024 to 38,421 units sold and accounted for almost 7.5% of all cars sold by Ford during that period. The automaker sold 19,660 Maverick hybrid trucks last quarter, up 77% year-over-year.

Ford has previously said it would double down on hybrid vehicles as a hedge against Americans’ reluctance to go all-in on EVs. The company said Wednesday it expects hybrid sales to increase as more hybrid F-150 pickups are shipped to dealers.

The Detroit automaker said it is delaying the start of production at its under-construction Blue Oval City plant in Tennessee from late 2025 to 2026.

Ford will also delay production of its planned three-row EVs at the Oakville Assembly Plant in Ontario, Canada, to 2027 from 2025. In a statement, Ford said the delay will allow the company to take advantage of “emerging battery technology.” However, Ford said the overhaul of the formerly gas vehicle assembly plant into an EV-focused facility will begin in the second quarter as planned.

Tooling installation at the company’s Ohio Assembly Plant is set to begin in 2025. The facility will build a new commercial EV that Ford has previously said would come “mid-decade.”

“As the No. 2 EV brand in the U.S. for the past two years, we are committed to scaling a profitable EV business, using capital wisely and bringing to market the right gas, hybrid and fully electric vehicles at the right time,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said in a statement.

Although Ford’s EV sales climbed 86% to 20,223 units last quarter, the technology accounted for less than 4% of all deliveries in that period. The Mustang Mach-E crossover made up almost half of all EVs sold, largely due to new incentives of up to $8,100 that provided a much-needed boost.

As the EV market becomes more crowded and sales growth begins to slow, several automakers are furthering their hybrid plans.

General Motors $GM said first-quarter EV sales were down 20% year-over-year. CEO Mary Barra has said that GM plans to sell between 200,000 and 300,000 EVs in North America this year but would “build to demand.” In the short-term, the company will focus and rely on hybrid vehicles — namely the Chevy Corvette E-Ray.

Toyota $TM Motor, which pioneered hybrid vehicles in the 1990s, on Tuesday said it delivered almost 178,00 electrified vehicles, including plug-in hybrid vehicles. The Japanese automaker said hybrids accounted for 36% of total sales.