Ford announced a significant change in its electric vehicle (EV) strategy on Thursday.

The company will delay $12 billion in planned investments intended to boost its EV production.

This decision was shared during a media briefing by Ford’s Chief Financial Officer, John Lawler.

According to CNBC, Ford had been optimistic, expecting a rapid increase in electric vehicle sales.

However, high interest rates are putting a damper on the enthusiasm for EVs, as reported by Reuters.

In stark financial terms, Ford reported a loss of $1.3 billion in its EV division for the third quarter.

This comes as customers are hesitant to pay more for EVs than they would for traditional gasoline or hybrid cars, which offer a mix of battery and gas power.

Addressing this, Lawler stated “We are, though, looking at the pace of capacity that we’re putting in place. We are going to push out some of that investment.”

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This shift in strategy will impact future projects, notably delaying a proposed second battery plant in Kentucky that was announced just last month.

However, it’s not all bad news.

Lawler confirmed that the development of an EV manufacturing campus in Tennessee remains on track.

Robert Bryce, an energy expert, broke down Ford’s EV losses further.

He determined that for the third quarter, Ford lost an eye-opening $62,016 on each of the 20,962 EVs it sold.

To put the year in perspective, Bryce highlighted that Ford’s total EV losses have now reached a daunting $3.1 billion.

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