Ford Motor stated Thursday pushed again manufacturing targets for its electrical automobiles, citing slower-than-expected adoption.

Ford now expects to be constructing EVs at a fee of 600,000 per 12 months someday throughout 2024, a delay from earlier estimates that it could attain that stage by the top of 2023. The automaker had beforehand focused a fee of greater than 2 million per 12 months by the top of 2026, however now says it does not know when it will obtain that quantity.

“The transition to EVs is going on, it simply could take slightly longer,” CFO John Lawler stated following the automaker’s second-quarter earnings outcomes.

“It is going to be slightly slower than the trade anticipated,” he stated.

However Lawler emphasised that Ford’s EV spending plan and its profitability purpose for its electrical car unit have not modified. He stated that Ford continues to be focusing on an 8% working margin for its EV enterprise, and that it is not planning to cut back its capital spending on the automobiles.

“We will discover a solution to get to that 8%,” Lawler stated.

In an announcement, CEO Jim Farley argued that the extra gradual ramp-up of electrical car manufacturing might be a boon for Ford.

“The near-term tempo of EV adoption will probably be slightly slower than anticipated, which goes to learn early movers like Ford,” Farley stated, noting the success of Ford’s first era F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E EVs. “Whereas others are attempting to catch up, we’ve clean-sheet, next-generation merchandise in superior improvement that can blow folks away.”

Whereas Ford total was solidly worthwhile in the course of the second quarter, the Mannequin e unit posted an working lack of $1.8 billion.