Posted on 04/04/2024 7:35:26 AM PDT by Red Badger
DETROIT – Ford Motor is delaying production of a new all-electric large SUV and pickup truck, as it shifts to offer hybrid options across its entire North American lineup by 2030.
The Detroit automaker on Thursday said it will continue to invest in EVs, but it is postponing production of the three-row SUV at a plant in Canada from 2025 to 2027 to allow for the market to mature more. The pickup is being pushed back from late 2025 to 2026.
The shift in EV plans is the latest for Ford and the entire automotive industry as adoption has been slower than many expected and production costs remain high.
Ford last year said it would delay or cancel $12 billion in planned spending on new electric vehicles due to the shifting market conditions as well as challenges to profitably building and selling the vehicles. It was not immediately clear whether the new delays were part of those plans.
“As the No. 2 EV brand in the U.S. for the past two years, 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 Thursday in a statement.
The three-row SUV was part of a roughly $1.3 billion investment to transition Ford’s Oakville Assembly Plant in Ontario, Canada, into a new electric vehicle hub. It was supposed to be Ford’s first time completely retooling a North American facility producing gas-powered vehicles into one that manufactures EVs.
“The additional time will allow for the consumer market for three-row EVs to further develop and enable Ford to take advantage of emerging battery technology, with the goal to provide customers increased durability and better value,” the company said in a release.
Ford said it will continue to focus its EV efforts on new plants such as its “BlueOval City” campus in Tennessee rather than transitioning current facilities producing engine-powered vehicles to all-electric models.
“Our breakthrough, next-generation EVs will be new from the ground up and fully software enabled, with ever-improving digital experiences and a multitude of potential services,” Farley said.
The automaker said the massive Tennessee facility, which was part of an $11.4 billion investment announced in 2021, will begin production of Ford’s next-generation all-electric truck, codenamed “T3,” in 2026, rather than 2025.
Ford said it is continuing construction of battery plants in Michigan, Tennessee and Kentucky.
In the first quarter of 2024, Ford’s electric vehicle sales increased by 86% from subdued levels a year earlier. Hybrid sales for the automaker rose 42% year over year, while sales of Ford’s traditional vehicles with internal combustion engines were up 2.6%.
Ford’s “Model e” electric vehicle business lost $4.7 billion in 2023, including $1.57 billion during the fourth quarter. In February, the automaker said it expected the unit to lose between $5 billion and $5.5 billion in 2024.
Ford must be thinking that the new emission regs that will effectively kill all ICE vehicles will be repealed by Trump or lose in court.
“I’m not in favor of F’ing taxpayers.”
That’s all this Gangster Government does.
Ford is losing it’s shirt and it’s pants ?
Then the battery died. He was able to find a supplier of refurbished batteries, the cost was about $7500. It, too, soon died. The supplier replaced it for free...and sold my cousin battery insurance for $35/month.
His Prius is dinged up with dents and rust, etc. He's looking for a well-used Lexus hybrid now. Maybe the battery died again and he doesn't want to tell me lol
RME
“Ford must be thinking that the new emission regs that will effectively kill all ICE vehicles will be repealed by Trump or lose in court.”
Or they did the math and realized that they could never recover the development costs of EVs that virtually no one wants (especially considering that people don’t ‘need’ to buy new cars) and thus they would go broke trying to comply.
Taxpayers are going to take a bath on the existing battery cars/trucks that are going to have to be sold at fire sale process.
I recently drove a Karma Revero - it’s a hybrid (PHEV). The gas engine isn’t connected to the drivetrain, it’s just there to charge the batteries - can go ~370miles. Then fill up.
It has 3 modes; battery only (80 miles), ‘sustain’ - where the engine keeps the batteries charged as you cruise, and ‘sport’ where both batteries and engine are maxing to provide as much power as possible. Quite quick!!
I liked the configuration - plus it’s a really nice looking car.
Hybrid still sucks. Expensive battery replacements are not the way forward. Buying either hybrid or electric only plays into the hands of the globalist climate hoaxers.
I don't think it is proven at all. Plug in hybrids fall well behind all electric vehicle sales. Hybrid vehicles that return braking energy to a battery fair a bit better than all electrics, but the sales numbers still stink...
They have to be heavily discounting Brandon’s thinly veiled orders to cease ICE production, cease gasoline sales and get everybody into an EV.
That’s good news.
>>>...have to be sold at fire sale...<<<
Literally.................
Post a picture. I won’t look it up online. Don’t want to get slammed with hybrid ads.
See next post.............
Thx That’s a car for a teen and his gf.
And, anyway, karma is a -——.
“Just looked the replacement cost for a hybrid battery.
Not doing that.”
Hmm.
The 2023 Toyota Prius, a hybrid, has a battery with a range of 44 miles so it must be much smaller and therefore much cheaper than a battery-only vehicle’s battery.
A supplier gives a cost of around $3000 for a replacement Prius battery. Doesn’t sound bad if it’s good for 150,000 miles.
And a fifth of JD...............
They are in corporatism plan. Do what government says and if it doesn’t work they will get bailed out by the taxpayers.
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