In a move that surprised some investors but seemed inevitable to others, Ford Motor Company(NYSE: F) announced recently it would take a massive $19.5 billion in special charges to pivot away from full electric vehicles in favor of more hybrid and extended-range options. These are massive decisions that will impact investors for years, especially considering that Ford’s Model e division, responsible for its electric vehicles, lost over $5 billion in 2024 alone.
All that said, there is recent data that suggests Ford made its pivot at the right time.
Image source: Ford Motor Company.
Ford was able to drive its U.S. market share higher in 2025, up 0.6 percentage points, as it outperformed the industry for its 10th consecutive month ending in December. Ford’s total sales rose 6% for the full year to 2.2 million vehicles, with overall market share reaching 13.2%. In fact, it was Ford’s best annual sales and fourth-quarter performance since 2019.
Said Andrew Frick, president, Ford Blue and Model e, in a press release:
We’re growing share and beating the trend because we offer a great range of products, from accessible entry-level models to high-performance off-roaders. Our growth across record hybrid sales shows that our “power of choice” approach — offering gas, hybrid, and electric — is exactly what consumers are looking for right now.
There were a lot of sales highlights for the folks at the Blue Oval in 2025, but there were three noticeable takeaways for investors.
If you’ve been car shopping in recent years, you’ve likely noticed that price tags keep rising. New vehicle prices in the U.S. are now hovering around $50,000 and topped that milestone for the first time ever in 2025.
With prices rising, Ford understood it needed to have affordable options for consumers, and the sales data support that, with combined total sales of entry-level trims on the Maverick, Ranger, and Bronco Sport climbing over 41% during the fourth quarter. Ford’s Maverick, America’s most affordable truck, posted record fourth-quarter sales of over 34,000 vehicles — a 54% increase compared to the prior year — while also setting a full-year record.
These entry-level sales are more important than investors realize. The automotive industry is highly loyal, and “conquesting,” or effectively taking a consumer from a competing brand, is challenging and expensive. Bringing in a first-time consumer and potentially locking them into your brand and future sales bloodline is incredibly important.
Another takeaway was that Ford remained America’s best-selling truck manufacturer, with over 1.2 million total pickups and vans sold, a 9.5% gain compared to the prior year. Ford’s F-Series was again America’s best-selling truck, but Ford’s Maverick also posted a record year, with sales up over 18% to 155,000 pickups.
A not-so-well-kept secret in the automotive industry is that it costs only slightly more to produce a truck compared to a sedan, and the former can drive price tags two to three times higher. Pickup trucks and SUVs carry much more lucrative margins, and it’s great news for investors, as Ford continues to excel in these segments.
Last, as Ford pivots away from full-electric vehicles in favor of hybrids and extended-range vehicles, it appears to be excellent timing, as Ford’s hybrid sales set a new fourth-quarter and annual sales record. Ford sold over 228,000 hybrid vehicles in the U.S. in 2025, a nearly 22% increase over the prior year. But the critical part of this that many investors aren’t aware of: Ford CEO Jim Farley has previously noted that hybrid vehicles can often be more profitable than their gasoline-powered counterparts — very unlike full-electric vehicles and their counterparts.
Ultimately, while Ford made a huge and costly decision to pivot away from EVs in the near term and follow the market’s lead for hybrids currently, sales data such as the above support the decision. As Ford pivots away from EVs, thrives with its core gasoline-powered truck and SUV business, and hybrids remain an increasingly popular and more profitable option, Ford could be in much better shape for investors in a year or two.
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Daniel Miller has positions in Ford Motor Company. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
