Priced at less than 8 times next year's expected per-share earnings, there's no denying Ford Motor Company (F 2.38%) stock offers tremendous value right now. The dividend yield of 5% isn't too shabby either.

However, this is a company facing too many challenges that could keep bullishness in check as the market approaches 2024. Interested investors may want to hold off on a new position until Ford is clearly able to get past three specific headwinds.

1. Automobile demand will likely be tepid

The good news is that the U.S. auto industry's third-quarter sales of new cars was up 16% year over year, according to data from CleanTechnica. The bad news is that Q3's domestic auto sales are still down from pre-pandemic levels. We're seeing the same bigger-picture weakness on a worldwide basis too.

Things aren't expected to change much for the better in 2024 either. S&P Global analysts believe unit sales of vehicles will only grow a modest 2.8% next year, with the all-important U.S. market likely to lag that already-anemic worldwide forward progress. Edmunds analysts say the United States automobile market will only grow by 1%.

Affordability remains the top obstacle to a robust recovery from the industry, of course, an impasse exacerbated by high interest rates and broad economic malaise. Cox Automotive reports that the average transaction price of a new vehicle sold in the United States still stands at a sticker-shocking $48,000, versus the peak of nearly $50,000 per automobile early this year.

2. Expenses will remain relatively high

At the same time consumers are feeling the pain of higher costs, companies themselves are facing bigger expenses, with no end in sight.

And Ford is no exception to this dynamic. Speaking at the Barclays Global Automotive and Mobility Tech Conference last month, Ford CFO John Lawler conceded the company will need to increase its per-vehicle buyer incentive by $1,000 next year, as well as reduce dealers' per-vehicle profit by $800 in order to keep buyers coming into showrooms.

Also bear in mind Ford recently renegotiated its contract with the United Auto Workers union. This new deal will cost the company an estimated additional $8.8 billion between now and early 2028, adding on the order of $900 worth of additional per-car cost by the end of the timeframe. For perspective, the company now anticipates EBIT of around $10 billion this year, and a little over $5 billion worth of free cash flow.

3. Growth initiatives aren't panning out as hoped

Last but not least, while the advent of electric and autonomous vehicles prompted Ford to earmark $29 billion worth of investment in these areas back in 2021, consumers' and investors' enthusiasm for these technologies has waned. So has the company's commitment to their development. In October Ford announced it was postponing $12 billion worth of EV investments until demand for electric vehicles firms up. The carmaker just halved its 2024 production guidance for the all-electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck to better "match production with customer demand."

And it's not just electric vehicles. Lawler also commented at November's Barclays Global Automotive and Mobility Tech Conference that the company had reeled in its heavy spending on the development of level 4 autonomous vehicle technologies to instead focus its resources on lower-cost driver-assistance technologies.

In other words, Ford won't be rolling out a completely self-driving car anytime soon, undermining a key bullish tenet from just a couple of years back when robo-taxis and autonomic delivery vehicles were first put on the radar.

Keep it in perspective

Don't panic if you already own a stake in Ford. It's not the end of the world. The three challenges described above aren't permanent. Ford will survive, and will almost certainly continue paying its dividend in the meantime.

To the extent that rhetoric, opinion, and headlines impact a stock's value, though, the coming year could prove to be a tough one for Ford Motor shares.

See, U.S. investors are already apt to be cautious in 2024, worried about slowing GDP growth, the prospect of rising unemployment rates, and waning consumer spending growth -- all predictions from the Federal Reserve regarding the domestic economy. Meanwhile, analysts with Morgan Stanley say the global economy's growth will slow from 3% this year to 2.8% next year, further undermining any remaining bullish support for Ford.

Even the usually bullish analyst community isn't stoked. Its current consensus 12-month price target of $13.09 for Ford is a mere 10% above the stock's present price, with the majority of these professionals rating Ford stock at a hold or worse.

Own it if you must. Most investors, however, will be better served by merely adding Ford stock to a watchlist of potential picks for 2025, and shopping around for more promising prospects in the meantime. There are plenty of stocks out there with better performance prospects in a so-so economy.