Ford lost $2 billion in 2022 as some investments faltered

The company's financial performance was affected by its stake in Rivian, an electric truck company and a self-driving car company.

Ford Motor on Thursday said it lost $2.2 billion in 2022 as it wrote down the value of two large investments and grappled with high costs and supply chain issues.

The company cut its investments in Rivian, a young electric truck maker, by $7.4 billion and Argo AI, a company developing autonomous vehicles, $2.8 billion last year. Ford said Thursday it had almost entirely sold its stake in Rivian. In October, Ford declared Argo to be ending.

The automaker said its revenue rose about 16% to $158 billion dollars, mainly due to rising car prices. The company sold 4.2 million vehicles worldwide, up from 3.9 million in 2021.

Ford has long struggled to reduce defects and recalls of his cars and trucks. Recalls can be costly and time-consuming, and company executives said Thursday they are working to improve the reliability of their vehicles.

"Simply put, we need to improve quality and lower costs now," the company's chief financial officer, John Lawler, said in a conference call. joint ventures in China and about $12 billion in special spending, including those related to Argo and Rivian, which has lost much of its value since going public in November 2021.

Excluding special expenses, interest and taxes, Ford made $10.4 billion in profit last year, he said, about as much as in 2021 .

"We should have done much better last year," company chief executive Jim Farley said in a statement.

< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">In the last three months of the year, Ford posted a profit of $1.3 billion, a sharp drop from the previous year, when it posted a significant gain on its stake in Rivian Ford's revenue in the last three months of 2022 increased 17% to $44 billion.

The company sold 1.15 million vehicles in the fourth quarter, compared to 1.1 million a year. earlier, but about 500,000 fewer than Ford expected, Lawler said.

Ford's production has been slowed by global shortages computer chips, and Lawler said the company expects some continued disruption this year and a slight increase in production volume.

“In 2023, there will still be volatility on chips,” he said. "On older chips used in the automotive industry, there is still a capacity constraint."

Ford said it expects the adjusted earnings before interest and taxes this year are between $9 billion and $11 billion.

Ford shares were down about 7% in trading extended Thursday.

Earlier in the day, Ford said its U.S. car and truck sales rose 2% in January and that its electric vehicle sales more than doubled in the month.

The automaker sold 145,070 cars and light trucks last month, up from 142,445 in January 2022 , when a shortage of computer chips slowed production and left dealers with few vehicles to sell. At the end of January, Ford had 370,000 vehicles on dealer lots, up from 201,000 a year earlier, a strong signal that supply chain issues were easing.

Models responsible for the increase included pickup trucks, the Bronco sport utility vehicle and battery-powered models. Ford has sold 2,264 F-150 Lightning electric pickups, down from just 63 in January 2022, when the vehicle was just first available. It also sold 2,626 Mustang Mach-E electric SUVs, up 11%.

Ford halted production of the Mach-E in January while modifying its factory of Cuautitlán, just north of Mexico City, to increase production. Production will restart this month, the company said.

On Wednesday, Honda, Hyundai and Kia reported sales increases of 9% to 22%, too. due to improved supplies. of vehicles. But Toyota said its January sales fell 15% to...