It was a good news/bad news setup for Ford (NYSE:F), as the legacy automaker revealed that it didn’t have the best news about electric vehicles. However, its plans to release greener vehicles didn’t fall flat, as its hybrid sales did pretty well. Investors greeted this with marginal approval, who sent Ford shares up fractionally in Friday afternoon’s trading.
Ford kicked off 2024 in less-than-grand style, revealing that its sales of electric cars and trucks alike were down around 11%. However, a 43% jump in hybrid car sales took that drop’s impact off the table, and with a 2.6% rise in gas-powered car sales, Ford ultimately brought in a small increase in its sales to kick off 2024. Looking at the numbers, it’s little surprise that Ford, in turn, is planning to ramp up its production on hybrids as customers leave behind the Mustang Mach-E and the F-150 Lightning. It’s worth noting, though, that even with these large swings in sales numbers, gas vehicles still represent 90% of all of Ford’s sales.
Electrics Looking Sketchier than Ever
Customers clearly want at least some breed of gasoline going through their engines, as evidenced by the sales numbers. And while hybrids are certainly catching on—they use a mix of gas and electric technologies to produce better fuel efficiency—it’s clear that electrics are losing ground. Not only did the recent cold snap clearly illustrate some of their major drawbacks, but they’re also becoming a bit of a political hot button.
Two U.S. House of Representatives committees are poised to look into four Chinese companies connected to Ford’s intended battery plant in Michigan due to connections to the Chinese military, the North Korean government, and more.
Is Ford a Good Stock to Buy Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on Ford stock based on six Buys, five Holds, and three Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 0.88% increase in its share price over the past year, the average Ford price target of $13.45 per share implies 10.7% upside potential.
