Ford Motor Co. is once again restructuring its electric vehicle business, following a strategy shift late last year that resulted in a $19.5 billion writedown and six months of sliding EV demand.
The company announced on Wednesday it is merging its Electric Vehicle, Digital and Design team with its global Industrial System.
Ford called the integration “a key lever in achieving the company’s Ford+ objectives, including its target of an 8% adjusted EBIT margin by 2029.”
According to CEO Jim Farley, “this is the culmination of years of work and progress to create the modern Ford.”
The Chief Executive called it “a talented, unified organization capable of scaling high-quality, software-defined vehicles with a choice of propulsion, distinctive digital experiences and features, and a personalized ownership experience that improves over time.”
The restructuring comes as US automakers continue to absorb the effects of the federal EV tax credit’s termination on September 30 and the intensifying competition from Asian rivals in overseas markets.
Just days after telling Fox News that Chinese EVs should be kept “out of our country,” Farley told reporters Wednesday that Ford is working to expand its partnerships with Chinese automakers — the dominant force in the global EV industry.
EV Unit Chief Exit
As part of the restructuring, Doug Field — who joined Ford nearly five years ago to lead its shift to electrified, connected, and software-defined vehicles — will leave the company after a transition over the next month.
The former Tesla and Apple executive quickly became a key appointment by Farley to bolster the carmaker’s capabilities in advanced technologies — particularly to narrow the widely cited gap with Tesla in electric mobility and software-defined vehicles.
In January, Field laid out Ford’s eyes-off driving roadmap and AI assistant plans, framing the company’s in-house software and hardware development as a path to “democratize” advanced autonomy.
“I believe Ford now has a winning technology strategy and plan,” Field said on Wednesday, highlighting that “the first breakthrough product off the Universal EV platform – a mid-size pickup – is on its way to production.”
He added that Ford‘s hardware, software, and electrification plans are “clearly defined” and that initial quality of its core technologies is “near the top of the industry.”
The company’s CEO said Field “helped Ford find its place in this new era of electric propulsion and software-defined vehicles.”
The Detroit automaker has named its Chief Operations Officer Kumar Galhotra to lead the newly unified Product Creation and Industrialization organization.
Product Roadmap
Ford has laid out a roadmap to renew most of its lineup by the end of the decade, anchored by a new low-cost EV platform and a broad electrification push.
By 2029, the automaker plans to refresh 80% of its North American portfolio by volume and 70% of its global portfolio.
The overhaul will include the first vehicle built on Ford‘s new Universal Electric Vehicle (UEV) platform, a mid-sized pickup, and next-generation versions of the F-150 and F-Series Super Duty.
Ford is investing approximately $5 billion in the UEV program, which will debut in 2027 with a mid-size electric pickup priced around $30,000 — significantly below the entry price of the discontinued Lightning.
Farley has described the project as one of the company’s “most audacious”, citing aluminum unicastings that condense over 146 parts into two.
By 2030, Ford expects 90% of its vehicles by volume to feature updated electrical architectures, in-house user experiences, and next-generation over-the-air updates.
The foundation will support BlueCruise, the Ford Digital Experience, and “a scalable path toward future Level 3 autonomous driving,” the company added.
Nearly 90% of Ford‘s global nameplates will offer electrified powertrains by 2030, spanning hybrids (HEV), extended-range electric vehicles (EREV), and full battery electric vehicles (BEV).
EV Business Under Pressure
The restructuring builds on months of turbulence for Ford‘s EV business.
In December, the automaker announced approximately $19.5 billion in charges tied to the rationalization of its EV manufacturing capacity and product roadmap.
The changes included the cancellation of three previously planned EVs — a full-size pickup, a commercial van for the US, and a commercial van for Europe — and the end of production of the fully electric F-150 Lightning.
The EV unit ‘Model e’ recorded $4.8 billion in losses for the full year of 2025, with Chief Financial Officer Sherry House forecasting an additional $4 to $5 billion in losses in 2026.
Earlier this year, the CFO warned that the company did not expect ‘Model e’ to turn profitable until 2029.
The restructuring also affected battery production, which Ford had started in Louisville through its BlueOval SK partnership with South Korean manufacturer SK On.
Four months after announcing the joint venture plans, the company halted them — terminating the partnership and cutting 1,600 jobs at the Kentucky plant.
Ford will now focus on battery energy storage systems (BESS) — an area where Tesla is well established — with Lisa Drake being named President of Ford Energy earlier this year.
At the same time, Ford‘s EV sales reflected the pivot in strategy: after a surge in EV demand ahead of the federal credit termination, vehicle registrations fell sharply.
US deliveries fell 69% in January and 71% in February, extending the steepest decline in the company’s EV history.
First-quarter figures showed that electric vehicle registrations fell by 69.6% year over year.
Turn to Chinese Partners
The restructuring comes as Farley turns to Chinese EV makers, amid contradictory statements on their industry.
Just days after saying Chinese carmakers should be kept out of America, Farley said his company is looking to expand business ties to Chinese automakers.
Farley told Fox News on Monday that “we should keep them out of our country.”
On Wednesday, Farley seemed to try to walk back his tough words on China.
“We value our Chinese partners, they help us stay sharp and compete in many markets around the world,” Farley said. “We will continue to expand these partnerships.” He added that he had “no news” to announce.
Ford has reportedly been in discussions with Geely Holding Group about sharing manufacturing capacity in Europe — with the Valencia, Spain plant identified as the most likely option.
BYD has also been mentioned as potentially supplying batteries for gas-electric hybrid vehicles outside the US.
The reported BYD talks drew public criticism from White House trade adviser Peter Navarro earlier this year.
CEO Jim Farley told Trump administration officials earlier this year that if Chinese carmakers want to build cars in America, they should have to form joint ventures where US automakers hold controlling stakes in order to protect the domestic industry.
The arrangement would mirror what China required of Western automakers three decades ago when they set up factories there.
“My point is not to be anti anything or against anyone; it’s to be an advocate for a strong US auto industry,” Farley said. “To really figure out our policy, both company policy and government policy, because the stakes are so high at this moment.”
Farley, who has praised the quality and technology of Chinese cars — including driving a Xiaomi SU7 shipped from Shanghai to Chicago for six months — added that global automakers that don’t “become fit like the best of the Chinese” won’t “be around much longer.”
Chinese EVs in the US
Last week, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Chinese automakers will struggle to establish a presence in the United States, as discussions about their potential entry via Canada continue to grow.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced earlier this year that Ottawa would allow up to 49,000 Chinese EVs to enter the country each year, subject to a reduced tariff of 6.1%.
Greer had called Canada’s Chinese EV trade deal “problematic” within hours of its announcement in January, warning that Ottawa may regret it.
“Those rules are effective,” he stated last Friday, noting that restrictions would likely apply even for Chinese automakers that set up production in America.
Additionally, “it seems like it would probably be difficult for certain countries to establish new production here, given those sets of rules,” Greer said.
The comments represent the clearest signal yet that the Trump administration intends to enforce, rather than soften, the connected vehicle restrictions finalized under President Biden in January 2025.
Those rules bar vehicles from using Chinese- or Russian-linked software and hardware, citing risks tied to data collection and potential remote access to vehicle systems.
The 100% tariff on Chinese EVs — originally quadrupled under Biden — remains in place alongside the administration’s own broader tariff measures.
Pressure on China Ban
At the same time, pressure to keep Chinese automakers out of the country has been building on both sides of the aisle.
Three Democratic senators — Tammy Baldwin, Elissa Slotkin and Chuck Schumer — last week urged Trump to block Chinese automakers from entering the US market entirely, whether through imports from other North American countries or by establishing domestic production.
The senators warned that allowing them in would create an economic advantage that American automakers could not overcome and a national security risk “that could never be reversed.”
The White House said that “while the administration is always working to secure more investment into America’s industrial resurgence, any notion that we would ever compromise our national security to do so is baseless and false,” according to Reuters.
Concerns on BYD
BYD Executive VP Stella Li has recently told Bloomberg the company is considering building a plant in Canada but insisted on full ownership rather than a joint venture.
US senators had previously noted that BYD was among a group of companies briefly added to a list of Chinese firms allegedly aiding Beijing’s military.
“The Administration should move without hesitation to designate BYD and other Chinese automakers as military-connected entities,” the three Democratic senators wrote in the letter sent last week.
Several US auto executives have criticized BYD and other Chinese automakers for receiving heavy government subsidies.
Farley has said on multiple occasions that Chinese manufacturers pose the biggest competitive threat to the industry and that “there’s no real competition from Tesla, GM, or Ford with what we’ve seen from China.”
Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe has raised similar concerns, while acknowledging technological innovations from companies such as BYD and Xiaomi.
EV Landscape
Greer’s comments came on the same day Volkswagen confirmed it will end production of the ID.4 at its Chattanooga, Tennessee plant this month.
The German automaker is replacing its only US-made electric vehicle with the gas-powered 2027 Atlas.
Volkswagen said it is shifting Chattanooga toward higher-volume models to sustain growth in North America, citing an EV market that “continues to challenge the industry.”
Trump’s country-specific import duties imposed last April reshaped automaker production strategies across the industry, triggering a record third quarter as buyers rushed to secure incentives, followed by a collapse in the fourth.
US EV registrations in the first quarter of 2026 remained below the same period a year earlier, according to Cox Automotive.
The ongoing Middle East conflict — which has spiked oil prices — has led to an increase in used EV sales in the United States during the first quarter.
The broader EV slowdown has already claimed several models, with automakers across the board shifting investment toward hybrids and back to internal combustion engine (ICE) models.
Other Automakers Move
Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that Stellantis had proposed manufacturing Leapmotor EVs at its idled plant in Brampton, near Toronto.
If finalized, the deal would make Leapmotor the first Chinese automaker to produce vehicles in Canada.
Days later, however, Canada’s Industry Minister Mélanie Joly laid out three conditions that any new production plan at the Brampton facility must meet — effectively ruling out the knock-down kit assembly model Bloomberg described.
The minister said any resumption of production at the facility must guarantee labour standards at or above previous levels, support the Canadian auto parts supply chain, and ensure that vehicle software complies with North American trade rules under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
In Europe, Chinese automakers have planned to enter local production themselves, such as BYD’s plant in Hungary, nearing production and Chery‘s moves in Spain and the UK.
On Thursday, the Financial Times reported that Nissan held talks with Chery about building cars at the Japanese group’s Sunderland (England) plant.
According to four people with knowledge of the talks, Nissan has recently discussed a partnership with Chery to boost the utilization rate of its Sunderland factory, which is operating at about 50%.
The Japanese group, however, has held talks with numerous other companies about using Sunderland and discussions with the Chinese state-owned carmaker may not materialise in a deal, two of the people cautioned.
