Ford warns U.S. EV demand may decline after federal incentive ends

Ford Motor Company’s chief executive warned this week that U.S. demand for electric vehicles could fall sharply now that a long-running federal purchase incentive has ended, a development industry officials say will force automakers to slow EV production, shift toward hybrids and rethink factory plans. Speaking at Ford Pro Accelerate in Detroit on Tuesday, CEO Jim Farley said he would not be surprised if EVs fell to about 5 percent of the U.S. market, down from roughly 10 to 12 percent reached during a pre-deadline sales surge.

The federal credit of up to 7,500 for new electric vehicles expired at the end of September and the administration also relaxed federal tailpipe emissions rules earlier this year, removing state authority to set stricter standards. Those policy changes, executives and analysts say, combined with consumer sensitivity to sticker prices, have undercut the financial case for many battery electric models and pulled forward purchases into the weeks before the cutoff. August posted a record U.S. monthly tally for electric cars as buyers accelerated orders to qualify for the credit, according to industry sales data.

Farley told the conference that customers are...