Ford Is Leaning Into Cheap EVs. What Wall Street Is Saying.

A 2025 Mustang Mach E. (Courtesy Ford)

Ford Motor is focused on making cheaper electric vehicles for Americans. Wall Street thinks that’s the right move. The problem for the stock is the current outlook.

Monday, Ford unveiled its “universal EV platform” at its assembly plant in Louisville, Ky. The goal is to produce EVs faster and cheaper while using fewer parts. The first vehicle will be a midsize pickup truck seating five passengers, starting at about $30,000 and due out in 2027.

The truck, according to Ford, will be as fast as versions of its Mustang muscle car and have more interior space than a Toyota RAV4. It will also utilize lithium iron phosphate, or LFP, batteries, which are cheaper and less controversial than batteries using cobalt and nickel.

“The company called this a new Model T moment, which should bring to market significant changes in vehicle manufacturing,” wrote BofA Securities analyst John Murphy in a Tuesday report. “These results are promising, and we are encouraged that Ford is learning from EV manufacturing leaders to come to market with a compelling value proposition.”

Those leaders are Chinese auto makers, such as BYD, and Tesla , adds Murphy. Ford will use large castings, like Tesla does. Ford is also streamlining electrical systems and the manufacturing footprint.

Murphy rates Ford stock at Buy with a $14 price target. “Although EVs may have hit the brakes in the U.S., we think that Ford’s approach looks at the future rather than the immediate term,” he added.

Americans bought 311,000 all-electric cars in the second quarter, down 6% from a year ago. U.S. EV penetration of new-car sales is stuck at roughly 7% to 8%, roughly half of the level of Europe, and one quarter of China’s.

Affordability will be key to selling more EVs in the future. The federal purchase tax credit worth up to $7,500 is expiring in September. It was eliminated in President Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill passed on July 4.

Murphy is one of the few bullish analysts. Overall, only 15% of analysts covering Ford stock rate shares Buy, according to FactSet. The average Buy-rating ratio for stocks in the S&P 500 is about 55%. The average analyst price target for Ford stock is about $10.50.

“While some of the details were not entirely new, we are encouraged to see some specifics on ways in which cost will be driven downwards,” wrote Deutsche Bank analyst Edison Yu. “And importantly, Ford is still committing to EV profitability within the first 12 months of launch in 2027.”

Ford is unique among traditional auto makers in that it discloses the financial performance of its EV division. Model e, as the segment is named, lost $1.3 billion in the second quarter, with vehicle sales of about 60,000 units, up 128% year over year. The per-car loss—operating profit divided by unit sales—fell to roughly $22,000 from $44,000 a year ago.

Yu rates Ford stock at Hold and has an $11 price target. Bernstein analyst Daniel Roeska rates shares at Sell with a price target of $8.30.

“Ford Universal EV Platform signals a clearer long-term direction,” wrote Roeska on Tuesday. ”Near-term earnings are set to weaken under the twin pressures of tariffs and affordability-driven demand softness.”

Auto makers face a bevy of tariffs, not only on imported cars, but on steel and aluminum, which is raising the cost of manufacturing. Ford recently estimated a $2 billion impact on 2025 profits from unrecovered tariff-related cost increases.

Ford stock ended Friday at $11.32. The shares slipped Monday, but added 0.8% on Tuesday, closing at $11.25, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.1%.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com