DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. on Thursday said it was doubling the money it plans to spend on electrified vehicles, to $22 billion through 2025, as it reported a $2.8 billion fourth-quarter loss due to costly product launches and significant one-time charges.
For all of 2020, Ford recorded its first net loss since the Great Recession — $1.3 billion — as the coronavirus pandemic disrupted production and sales.
Ford said its adjusted earnings before interest and taxes more than tripled from the fourth quarter of 2019 to $1.7 billion. Revenue fell 9 percent to $36 billion.
The automaker generated nearly $1.1 billion before interest and taxes in North America during the quarter, a 53 percent increase, with a profit margin of 4.9 percent.
The fourth-quarter net loss was attributable to number of previously announced special item charges, including $610 million for a Takata airbag recall, $2.5 billion as part of its pullout from Brazil and $1.5 billion related to remeasurement of its pension plans.
Ford in 2018 had committed to spending $11 billion through 2022 on electrified vehicles. It now plans to spend $29 billion through 2025 on electric and autonomous vehicles, topping a $27 billion commitment by General Motors.
CFO John Lawler said a “majority” of the $22 billion dedicated to electrified vehicles would be spent on battery-electric models, although he declined to say how many Ford planned to add to its lineup. He also declined to match GM’s stated ambition of going all-electric by 2035, noting Ford was focused on introducing upcoming models like the F-150 EV and E-Transit.
Lawler said the $7 billion commitment for autonomous vehicles would include spending on Ford-owned Argo AI as well as its planned 2022 launch of autonomous commercial services.
Ford said it expects the global semiconductor shortage to potentially reduce its first-quarter global production by 10 percent to 20 percent. Lawler said Ford would provide a more detailed look on how the issue will affect the company’s earnings when it reports first-quarter results in April.
The chip shortage is impacting multiple automakers around the world. Lawler said Ford would look at a number of remedies, including potentially buying chips itself instead of through suppliers.
“We’re being very proactive,” Lawler said. “We’re going to work the system to optimize what we can. We’re looking at every angle that we can so we can get as many chips in and minimize the impact on the business.”
