There’s no doubt that Ford believes in EV technology. It has launched the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning, and has committed to spending $50 billion in the coming years to invest in new electric vehicles factories and to update old plants to handle the shift away from combustion technology. But that shift is only a partial move as Ford claims gas car sales continue to be crucial to its growth.
Ford CEO Jim Farley recently split the company into an EV business called Model e and a combustion division, Ford Blue. If you had the chance to jump behind one of those sub-firms, odds-on you’d choose Model e. The future is electric, right? It might be for some consumers, but Ford thinks there’s not just a buck to be made selling combustion cars, but probably more bucks than rivals because Ford is determined to keep offering ICE cars when rivals leave the market, potentially giving Ford a bigger market share. While GM has pledged to sell only zero-emissions vehicles by 2035, Ford has made no such promise.
Related: GM Intends To Stop Selling Gasoline Vehicles By 2035, Will Be Carbon Neutral By 2040
The new 2024 Mustang is a perfect illustration of Ford’s continuing belief in gas cars at a time when its opposition is throwing its all behind electric vehicles. When the Mustang arrives in dealers next summer it won’t even offer mild-hybrid technology let along PHEV or full-electric variants, and a traditional muscle-car V8 is still a core part of the engine lineup. But by summer 2023 the Dodge Challenger will be on its farewell tour, and it’s likely that the Chevrolet Camaro won’t waste much time following it.
“In this particular segment, in Mustang, even though the segment may shrink, there’s a lot of speculation that our competitors may leave this segment,” Ford Blue president Kumar Galhotra told CNN Business. “So even though the segment in the industry is shrinking, we can grow.”
Enthusiast cars like the new Mustang and Bronco are just one of three areas of focus for Ford’s combustion efforts, the others being SUVs and trucks. Galhotra admitted to CNN’s reporters that gas vehicles will eventually be phased out, but until that happens Ford appears to be more than happy to indulge our lingering passion for ICE cars, while also satisfying other drivers’ desires to go electric.