“For larger retail, electric utilities, the economics are unresolvable,” Farley said. “These customers have very demanding use cases for an electric vehicle. They tow, they go off-road, they take long road trips. These vehicles have worse aerodynamics and they're very heavy, which means very large and expensive batteries.”

Extended-range electric vehicles will be essential to the American market, Ford CEO Jim Farley said on the company's earnings call Wednesday. The reason is simple: "Americans love their big cars. They love their big trucks," he said.