What happened
Ford Motor Company (F 0.08%) shares jumped as much as 4.5% Friday after some positive news related to both of the company's powertrain products. Ford has maintained that it doesn't plan to go all-electric, and it provided more news on that front today. The stock held on to a gain of 4.1% as of 3:45 p.m. ET.
So what
Investors have yet to see if Ford's strategy to continue producing its line of internal combustion engine products alongside its growing electric vehicle lineup makes good business sense. Many competitors including General Motors have set timelines for going all-electric.
Along with announcing a 68% year-over-year increase in February electric vehicle sales, Ford said its internal combustion vehicle sales also jumped 20.5% in the U.S. Today, the company said it is studying ways to boost production this year of its popular gasoline and hybrid F-150 trucks "to meet continued strong demand." It also intends to increase production of the Bronco Sport SUV and Maverick pickup truck.
Now what
Investors are hoping the continued popularity of its legacy vehicles will give it an edge over competitors that are abandoning their gas offerings. But the company is also investing heavily to ramp up the rate of production on its Mustang Mach-E, F-150 Lightning, and E-Transit commercial van electric products.
Image source: Ford Motor Company.
Yesterday, Ford announced the United States Postal Service plans to purchase more than 9,200 E-Transit vans for its fleet over the next two years. Investors seem to be giving the company credit for offering the parallel product lines with the news that both are doing well right now.
