Tesla is by far the global sales leader in electric passenger cars, but Ford’s CEO thinks his brand is equally dominant in the world of commercial vans and trucks.
CEO Jim Farley said in a video posted to X (formerly Twitter) that Ford is “a trusted brand”, and that there was “no Tesla of commercial vehicles”. He continued to say that as a result, “Ford is really the Tesla”.
“I think the customers really appreciate our charging solution and our software. I think the way we’re helping is just giving people the option of getting a Transit Custom in either electric or diesel or petrol versions, or a [plug-in hybrid] version of the new Ranger,” he said.
“We just have a lot of option and choice. We are not forcing customers to pick one technology over the other.”
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E-Transit Custom
Ford maintains its commercial endeavours are separate to the passenger side, and Ford Authority reports commercial customers are more eager to embrace electric vehicles (EVs).
The brand’s commercial EV lineup currently consists of the E-Transit van and the E-Transit Custom, the latter of which is due to arrive in Australia next year.
Ford’s plug-in hybrid (PHEV) Ranger is also expected to launch locally in 2025, and while the F-150 Lightning is available in Australia via local distributor AusEV, its production was cut back in the US amidst declining demand.
Despite that, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has previously praised Ford’s EV strategy, labelling it as “smart”.
F-150 Lightning
For 2023, Ford reported 7672 E-Transit sales in the US, a 18 per cent increase on 2022, while sales of E-Series vans increased by 34 per cent.
The F-150 Lightning recorded a US sales increase of 55 per cent from 2022 to 2023, helping the brand to a EV sales total of 25,937 for the year.
Australian sales figures for the only Ford commercial EV currently available locally – the E-Transit – are only individually published quarterly. Throughout the first half of 2024, 27 E-Transits were sold, accounting for just 3.3 per cent of all Transit sales.
MORE: Ford Ranger PHEV revealed – here’s what we know so far
MORE: Tesla CEO Elon Musk praises Ford’s electric car strategy
