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.
this is a GOOD move, hybrid is now proven, i want my maverick truck please.
This is on top of the $8,100 MSRP price slash that Ford implemented in February.
“Buttigieg placed on suicide watch.......”
I’d watch him commit suicide.
“Ford to delay all-electric SUV, truck to focus on offering hybrid vehicles across its lineup by 2030”
We are heading for an EPIC COLLISION now as the Biden bunch will effectively OUTLAW the production of gasoline vehicles, including hybrids, by 2030.
But it’s GREAT to see Ford doing this (thus joining Toyota, by way, LOL), now it’s up to the others to do the same.
“All electric” and “SUV” just don’t go in the same sentence together. LOL
All the billions these idiot CEOs poured into EVs over the past three years could have been used to develop hybrids. They just couldn’t wait to satisfy their fedgov benefactors and pander to the early adopters and Green Screeches.
Seppuku is preferred....................
That’s because an all-electric truck or SUV is a disaster waiting to happen.
Just looked the replacement cost for a hybrid battery.
Not doing that.
Our local Ford has three on his lot.
They can’t give them away..................
From last May...
https://www.pcmag.com/picks/plug-in-hybrid-electric-vehicles-under-40000-dollars
Soooo not doing it.
My son had a hybrid Pruis about 7 years ago. He saw mileage in the city equivalent to highway driving. He really liked it. But his family outgrew it because it didn’t have good trunk space.
Your Mach-E will be worth less than Zero in month 73 when you have to pay to have it hauled off as hazardous waste.
You can do that. I can’t.
I’m not in favor of F’ing taxpayers.
“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.”
I know a couple who built a McMansion near that battery plant. Doing so took up ALL their savings.
No stocks, bonds, mutual funds, money market funds, etc. Everything went into the house.
They say that the house will go up 200% to 400% in value once the plant is completed.
Then they can retire on all that money.
Good bet, isn’t it?
Wow, Brandon is going to blow a gasket at this news. I hope he doesn’t stroke out at this news.
Did anybody tell Butty Boy about this?
Wonder if you can just remove the dead battery and fool the electronics into thinking the battery's there. Then you have the smug satisfaction of operating a "hybrid" vehicle with the convenience of the gas engine.
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