Japanese carmakers have an EV edge

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Governments in the U.S. and other countries are now mandating that automakers phase out production of gasoline-powered cars and trucks and shift to electric-powered vehicles (EVs). However, consumer demand for EVs remains weak due to their higher costs and concerns over their range of use between chargings and the availability of charging stations, themselves. We continue to prefer Japanese automakers Toyota and Honda for your new buying instead of U.S.-based Ford. That’s because they are in a better position to comply with those mandates without incurring big losses. FORD MOTOR CO. $13 is a hold. The company (New York symbol F; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 4.0 billion; Market cap: $52.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.3; Dividend yield: 4.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; www.ford.com) is the second-largest automaker in the U.S. after General Motors (New York symbol GM) with 12.4% of the market. Its overseas operations supply 40% of its sales. In the fourth quarter of 2023, the automaker sold 487,840 vehicles in…