DETROIT (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co. on Thursday doubled the amount of money it plans to invest in electric and autonomous vehicles to $ 29 billion, although it posted a fourth-quarter net loss of $ 2.8 billion.
The No. 2 U.S. automaker also said the global shortage of semiconductor chips could lead to a 10% to 20% loss in first-quarter production.
For the year, Ford reported a net loss of $ 1.3 billion, or 32 cents per share, compared to a modest profit of the previous year of 1 cent per share.
Ford previously said it expected to make profits between 2020 and $ 1.1 billion.
During the fourth quarter, Ford had a loss of $ 2.8 billion, or 70 cents a share, compared to a loss of $ 1.7 billion or 42 cents a share, a year earlier.
The company predicted that operating profits would amount to $ 8 billion to $ 9 billion in 2021, compared to $ 2.8 billion last year. The 2021 figure includes a $ 900 million non-cash gain in Rivian, the electric vehicle startup in which Ford has invested, but does not include the effect of the global semiconductor shortage.
The loss of vehicle production due to the shortage of chips could reduce Ford’s 2021 operating profits by $ 1 billion, to $ 2.5 billion, according to Chief Financial Officer John Lawler.
In 2020, hit by a pandemic, Ford’s total revenue fell to $ 127 billion, from $ 156 billion in 2019.
Ford ended the quarter with about $ 31 billion in cash and $ 47 billion in liquidity, compared to nearly $ 30 billion and more than $ 45 billion respectively, the previous quarter.
The company’s operating margin in the fourth quarter was 4.8%, compared to a full-year target of 8%. Ford said it is aiming for an operating margin of 8% this year, including 10% in North America and 6% in Europe.
Ford said it is “doubling” on connected electric vehicles, and said it will invest $ 22 billion in electrification by 2025, nearly double what it had previously committed to electric vehicles.
Ford also said it will invest $ 7 billion in autonomous or stand-alone technology development for 10 years until 2025, $ 5 billion starting in 2021.
“We are accelerating all of our plans,” CEO Jim Farley said in a statement, including increasing battery capacity and adding more electric vehicles to his future portfolio.
CFO Lawler told reporters, “If electric vehicles continue to quickly gain favor, especially with commercial customers, we want to be clear that we will not cede land to anyone.”
Ford has previously pledged to invest $ 11.5 billion in electrification, including gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles, by 2022. This included the launch of the Mustang Mach-E EV crossover and the electric versions of the F-150 pickup truck and van. Transit.
US rival General Motors Co. has said it will spend $ 27 billion in 2023 on electric and autonomous vehicles. He said he plans to offer 30 electric vehicles worldwide by 2025 and is aiming to surpass annual sales of one million electric vehicles in the United States and China by 2025.
Report by Ben Klayman and Paul Lienert in Detroit; Edited by Dan Grebler