Unexpected developments out of legacy automaker Ford (F), as it announced plans to dial back production on electric vehicles. The move was, amazingly, welcomed by shareholders, who sent Ford stock climbing roughly 2% in Thursday afternoon’s trading.
Originally, Ford planned to put a plant in Ontario, Canada, focused on only building electric vehicles. But now, those plans have been shut down, and the plant will pivot to commercial vehicles. It will ultimately roll out 100,000 trucks in 2026 alone.
That may not be the case for long, though, as reports also noted that the plan to make the Ontario plant strictly electric vehicle-focused would now kick off in 2027. However, that may not ultimately happen as Ford is looking to spend roughly $2.3 billion to retrofit the plant and get it producing regular trucks.
More Slowdown in EV Growth Ahead?
Here’s where things get interesting; while some may think this is a disaster for Ford, others think it’s a fantastic idea. 4.5-star analyst John Murphy from Bank of America recently stated that Ford is not only doing the right thing here, but it should be doing it even harder. Murphy believes that Ford should pull back on electric vehicles in China, where it’s losing money, to boost overall profitability.
Is Ford Stock a Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on F stock based on seven Buys, five Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After an 11.85% rally in its share price over the past year, the average F price target of $15.33 per share implies 4.39% upside potential.
