What happened
Ford Motor Co. (F 0.90%) stock is up 3.5% as of 1:20 p.m. ET Wednesday in response to the automotive company's announcement that it's going even more all-in on electric vehicles.
As the company just advised, its new "Ford Pro" commercial fleet vehicles business "is launching an all-new suite of commercial chargers as the next addition in the comprehensive, end-to-end commercial charging solutions."
Image source: Ford Motor Co.
So what
Specifically, Ford is designing six new "scalable Level 2 AC and Level 3 DC fast chargers ranging from 11.5- kilowatts to 180 kilowatts" in power that can be installed both at private homes and at commercial fleet depots. Additionally, the company will offer "Ford Pro FinSimple" financing to larger customers looking to building out charging hardware "infrastructure" for their businesses.
Ford is rolling out the new charging stations and financing system at the same time as it begins selling its 2022 model Ford F-150 Lightning Pro electric pickup trucks and E-Transit electric vans this spring.
Now what
In so doing, Ford appears to be trying to solve the "chicken and egg" problem in electric vehicles -- the fear that EVs won't sell until there is sufficient charging infrastructure to make sure they won't run out of juice. The problem is compounded by companies' desire not to build out big charging networks until they're sure they'll have enough EV customers to make it profitable.
Ford's solution: Build the chargers, and the EVs, simultaneously, and sell the chargers to the same customers who will be buying the EVs. And to ensure that both sides of the equation match, Ford Pro plans to sit "down with our customers to learn their business and how they plan to use their electric vehicles," then "help them plan their charging infrastructure" to ensure it's the right solution to fit their needs.
It's an approach that makes sense to me. And judging from today's stock price rise, a lot of investors agree.
