Automaker says pivot is because of a lack of electric vehicle sales.

The production line of the Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck in Dearborn, Mich., in 2022. The automaker said Thursday it would delay new battery-powered models and shift its focus to hybrids. SYLVIA JARRUS — THE NEW YORK TIMES

By NEAL E. BOUDETTE | THE NEW YORK TIMES

Ford Motor Co. on Thursday delayed the production of at least two new electric cars and said it would pivot to making more hybrids. Its decision was the latest sign that large automakers have been forced to rethink their strategy for electric vehicles because sales for those models are slowing.

The shift by Ford and automakers such as General Motors and Mercedes-Benz, which have also pushed back their electric car plans, has been prompted largely by the companies’ difficulties in making and selling enough electric cars and doing so profitably.

Sales of such vehicles still are growing but the pace has slowed sharply in recent months as automakers have tapped out many of the early adopters who were willing to spend more than $50,000 on a battery-powered car. Because they are still learning how to make the cars and their batteries at lower cost, the companies have not been able to bring out more affordable models.

Some consumers also are reluctant to buy electric models because they can’t charge the vehicles at home or are worried that there won’t be enough public chargers available when they want to travel more than a couple hundred miles.

Many car buyers interested in electric vehicles appear to be choosing hybrid cars, which can cost just a few hundred dollars more than comparable gasoline-only models. Those cars also are easier for consumers to get used to because they don’t have to be plugged in and are fueled like conventional models.

Ford said Thursday that it hoped to offer a hybrid version of every model it sold by the end of the decade. It already makes hybrid versions of two pickups — the Maverick and the F-150 — and its Escape crossover.

The company said it was now planning to start making a large electric sport utility vehicle at its plant in Oakville, Ontario, in 2027, two years later than it had planned. A plant that Ford is building in Tennessee will start making an electric pickup truck in 2026, a year later than originally scheduled.

“We are committed to scaling a profitable EV business, using capital wisely and bringing to market the right gas, hybrid and fully electric vehicles at the right time,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said in a statement.

The slowdown in sales also is hurting Tesla, the leading maker of electric models in the U.S. This week it reported an unexpected 8.5% decrease in sales in the first three months of the year.

Wednesday, Ford said its sales of electric vehicles grew 86% in the quarter, to 20,223 vehicles, but the total was well below the level the company once hoped to reach and came after it cut some prices.

The company sold more than 7,700 F-150 Lightning pickups, its flagship electric model, in the three-month period. As recently as last summer, Ford hoped to be able to produce about 150,000 Lightnings trucks a year.