DETROIT- ford Motor tries to get more of its managers to buy electric vehiclesaccording to an internal email the carmaker sent last week and seen by Reuters.
The Dearborn, Michigan-based company turned a lease program it offers to eligible current and former managers, which now requires them to have an electric Mustang Mach-E SUV or F-150 Lightning pick up if they want to lease an additional vehicle. Employees are allowed a certain number of leased vehicles, usually one to two depending on their management level, before ordering an additional car.
This is the first time Ford has required its employees to purchase an electric vehicle for its supplemental leasing program, a company spokesperson said.
“By encouraging our employees to drive an electric car through the optional program, they can experience first-hand how easy it is and better share their experiences with friends and family. This is an important way to increase awareness of new technology,” the spokesperson said.
Ford has thousands of managers, but the company declined to say how many would be affected by the policy change. Vehicles leased by Ford managers count as a sale for the automaker.
Sales of the F-150 Lightning have been slower than Ford CEO Jim Farley initially predicted. After expanding production capacity at the F-150 Lightning plant twice and adding a third shift to the plant, Ford cut production of the F-150 Lightning in half. electric truck earlier this year.
Farley expected the plant to yield a lot trucks with an annual run rate of 150,000 vehicles, before rolling back those goals last year. Ford sold about 24,000 Lightnings in 2023 and about 41,000 Mach-E SUVs the same year.
Ford has cut prices on the Mach-E and Lightning several times since early 2023 to stimulate demand and compete with price cuts implemented by the EV leader Tesla.
While the growth of electric vehicles has slowed, demand for hybrids has soared. Ford hybrid sales rose 25.3% in 2023 compared to the same period last year, outpacing EV sales growth of 17.9% in the same period. Ford is scheduled to report first-half sales results on Wednesday.
Farley has been increasingly emphasizing his focus on hybrid production in recent months, saying these vehicles will be a substantial part of Ford’s portfolio in the near future.
If employees drive an additional lease vehicle other than the two electric vehicles Ford has designated, they must return or purchase their vehicle by May 15, 2025, according to the email sent to managers.
(Reporting by Nora Eckert; Editing by Aurora (Ellis)