Posted on 11/21/2023 8:43:08 PM PST by SeekAndFind
Wasn't it that old guy Bob Dylan who had some lyrics in some song saying The Times They Are A-Changin'?
He probably didn't have electric vehicles in mind when he wrote that song back in the '60s but I'm sure he wouldn't mind if it were brought up in this instance, particularly if he was going to get a royalty check from the reference in some way shape or form.
Sorry, Bobby, that rule doesn't apply here.
Seems that that since Ford Motor settled with the United Auto Workers a couple of weeks ago, their enthusiasm for switching to an all-electric vehicle fleet by 2035 has waned a bit.
Their hesitation was first noted here at RedState by my colleague Bob Hoge at the end of September.
Ford Gets Cold Feet, Pulls Plug on Multibillion-Dollar China-Backed EV Battery Plant
The Ford Motor Company announced Monday that it is pausing construction on a massive electric battery plant in Michigan that involved a Chinese EV battery company. Notably, the plan had been originally considered for Virginia, but Gov. Glenn Youngkin opposed it due to China's potential influence in the plan, arguing that "CATL and the Chinese Communist Party would have full operational control over the technology."
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer had no such qualms, however, and welcomed the plant with open arms as her state government pumped $1 billion into the project.
š¢šøšØš³ Gov Whitmer celebrates new Chinese battery plant after giving away $1B+ in state funds so a company w/close ties to the CCP will locate in Michiganāļø She said it was āthrillingā. Selling out our state & country isnāt thrilling, it very troublingā¼ļø https://t.co/GTbcT7BEv0ā Rich Studley, Michigander (@rstudley) September 20, 2023
Itās not clear why Ford got cold feet:
Ford said in a statement to FOX Business that work on the factory had been paused and spending would be limited, but declined to pinpoint the exact considerations that factored into the decision. The Detroit-based company also said it hadn't made a final decision about the project despite repeatedly defending it for months.
"Weāre pausing work and limiting spending on construction on the Marshall project until weāre confident about our ability to competitively operate the plant," Ford spokesperson T.R. Reid told FOX Business. "We havenāt made any final decision about the planned investment there."
Now that the dust from the strike has settled, the new plan is that they will scale the project back by almost half of what they originally planned.
Ford Motor Co.'s decision to resume construction of its electric-vehicle plant in Marshall, but at a much smaller scale, marks another sign that looming expectations for EV sales growth aren't keeping pace with ambitious targets embraced inside and outside the auto industry.
The Dearborn-based automaker said Tuesday it is scaling back its expected gigawatt capacity for the Marshall project by about 43% and will decrease the number of jobs created through the investment by about 32% to a new total of 1,700 jobs. The company still plans to complete construction by 2026.
Smaller production targets and fewer jobs created in the west Michigan city are a reflection of the challenges the industry faces right now. Range, infrastructure and pricing are holding back EVs from mass adoption. New labor agreements have the Detroit Three automaker contending with increased labor costs. And high interest rates are affecting new-vehicle sales in general.
Now I really can't blame the executives over at Ford Motor for thinking that maybe investing a ton of money and time into something that is not nearly as strong as they believed is not the route to go.Ā
The U.S. economy continues to put up solid numbers, but the public's feeling about said economy is not very good. Plus, electric vehicles' biggest cheerleader in the government is currently Joe Biden, and his leadership on this and in a number of other areas is not very inspiring.Ā
Now that the election is officially less than a year away, automotive company execs need to look at the long game of 10, 15, or 20 years down the road mixed in with what the current atmosphere is. There is no reason to assume that Joe Biden will be in the White House on January 20th, 2025 which means there's no guarantee of an endless stream of federal dollars to help subsidize these projects.
Also, keep in mind that Michigan is the very state where a recall just happened earlier this month because of local officials rolling over for a Chinese-affiliated electric vehicle battery-making plant, as my colleague Teri Christoph wrote about.
Michigan Town Votes Out Entire Local Government, Immediately Changes Locks
This election story out of Michigan is what you might call "democracy in action."
Go Michigan. Teri continues...
The good people of Green Charter Township, a small rural community north of Grand Rapids, ousted all five of the board members in a special election held Tuesday. They swapped the five, all Republicans, for candidates who ran without party affiliation. To show they meant business, the townspeople immediately called in locksmiths to change the locks on the main government building.Ā
This election story out of Michigan is what you might call "democracy in action."Ā
The good people of Green Charter Township, a small rural community north of Grand Rapids, ousted all five of the board members in a special election held Tuesday. They swapped the five, all Republicans, for candidates who ran without party affiliation. To show they meant business, the townspeople immediately called in locksmiths to change the locks on the main government building.Ā
Another resident, Harry King, said, āRight now, we are not on friendly terms with China. They are threatening us. I consider them the enemy. I donāt want them here, either."
Only time will tell if Ford's attitude about electric vehicles is truly changing.
My sneaking suspicion is that it is, and that will probably make Elon Musk and Tesla very happy, which is fine with me. I'm not a huge fan of Detroit's big three making cars that are not gas guzzlers and that don't produce the rumble of an engine idling in 20 degree weather in January.
I never want those times to change.
I say similar about both torn down jeeps and that K5.
Every now and then I make a little progress.
It isnāt like I have a full social calendar, exciting night life or much else outside of being a working person.
Yah, the Cash Cow by far are the F Series trucks. More specifically the gas burner F-150 and diesel burner F-250 series. Ford is bleeding red and needs to pump their sales back up or eventually file for bankruptcyā¦.
You are probably right. After all there are plenty of trillions left where they found the first $34 trillion we didnāt have.
CATL??? CATL???
So they want to build CATL cars? Not very subtle.
Iām frequently amazed at the continuous lunacy that plagues Fordās executive suite. Is it the family, or the idiots they hire?
āItās not clear why Ford got cold feetā
Maybe itās the fact that there are over 92,000 unsold EVās sitting in dealer lots. As for T gator itās best to just ignore him. He is a party connected rat troll and a provocateur.
Heās actually sitting on the side of the road waiting for a diesel powered tow truck to tow his EV to the shop where he can pay $1000 to get the dead battery jumped then wait six hours for it to charge to 80%.
Or he might be calling his insurance company to see if the house is covered for the EV fire thatās currently burning in the garage.
Ford and GM were loosing about 70-100K per vehicle sold, while Tesla was making 8-9k per vehicle sold.
Ford and GM hoped to reduce the price as volume increased. It didn’t because they don’t have a good charging network and their vehicles are not designed from scratch as electric, rather they are bolted onto their existing vehicle body types.
To the people who electric cars are golf carts, The Model S Plaid is the fastest production car in the world and is ~ $120Kand the next fastest is over $1M.
Ford loses about 30k on every EV it sells. Might have something to do with it.
And they don't even make up for it on volume.
That number range sounds familiar. Isn't that close to the tax subsidy the feds pay out to people who can afford to buy an EV?
After Biden gave them all that money too Biden the gift that keeps on giving.
Hey, the Tax subsidy only reduces the price to the consumer.
For example let’s say Tesla produces a 45K (retail car), and sells it for 45K.
The customer pays 45K and the gov gives the consumer (perhaps) a tex credit of 8k (for example).
The 8k goes to the consumer NOT the car manufacturer.
So Tesla mad 8k on the car, (it cost them 37K to build/deliver). The customer paid 45k. Therefore there’s an 8k profit. Whatever the gov does (or does not) give the customer does not affect the Tesla pricing/profit.
Are you really that bad with math?
To futher illustrate, FORD and GM are LOOSING 30-70-100K per vehicle, and their cars are eligible for consumer side subsidy too.
Folks, the car companies have been a good ol boy club for too long. Only Tesla is driving down the costs.
Have you priced a F250 lately?
-PJ
The only American car company to survive without government rescue? Hmmm, methinks Ford’s executives aren’t dumb. They know EV’s are going bust.
My progress is rather slow too and I have zero social life, no night life and I don’t work.
At least not at a job or business.
I did get a lot done on my house this year which was nagging my conscience more than my trucks are.
The job, the spouse, continuing Ed classes, and mainly treading water in regards to the red ink from a couple of big time hospital visits and all of 3rd party stuff insurance partially or didnāt cover.
I am down to one major debt at least and if nothing goes to wacko and super strict budgeting, a year to 18 months.
My Willys jeep is the first candidate for reassembly. The rolling chassis is in storage and I hope to bring it home this long weekend.
Iām all the labor I have.
Going things alone is what Iām used to.
That's where I am too and for the most part the way I prefer it to be.
Here's to good health, long life and old motors! :)
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