Ford to spend more on EVs than internal combustion vehicles in 2023, North America COO says

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. will spend more on electric vehicles than on gasoline-powered vehicles in 2023, according to Lisa Drake, the company’s North America COO.

The automaker is in the midst of a $30 billion investment in EVs through 2025 and until now has not put a timetable on when EV spending will exceed internal combustion engine spending. Drake made the announcement during a fireside chat Monday hosted by Barclays autos analyst Brian Johnson.

“We’ve been over the moon about the success of the [Mustang] Mach-E and the F-150 Lightning by bringing in over 70 percent new customers to the Ford brand,” she said. “That gives us an opportunity to not only lead on the ICE business but also in the EV space with F-150. Our aspirations are high. We don’t plan to cede truck leadership to anybody.”

Ford has said it has over 120,000 reservations for the Lightning, which launches next year. Beyond that, the automaker plans to launch the E-Transit van this year as well as a Lincoln EV next year. The company has said it’s working on electric versions of the Explorer and Lincoln Aviator crossovers.

Ford has said that EVs will account for 40 percent of its global sales by 2030. The Lincoln brand will have four battery-electric products by 2030.