Ford’s EV strategy is in free fall after the Big Three automaker on Wednesday cancelled a US pickup truck factory, a three-row SUV and scaled back the introduction of new model pickup trucks and vans.It comes as the Big Three automaker warned Wednesday that its EV foibles could cost the company nearly USD$2 billion in coming quarters.Instead it plans to increase focus on gasoline powered cars and hybrids more favoured by consumers. It plans to keep making the Ford F-150 Lightning and Mustang MachE crossover..“As we’ve learned in the marketplace, and we’ve seen where people have gravitated, we’re going to focus in where we have competitive advantage, and that’s on commercial land trucks and SUVs,” Ford CFO John Lawler said Wednesday.The moves come as its Model-e division continues to lose about USD$44,000 on each unit sold, according to first half financial results released Wednesday. To that end it took a one-time USD$400 million non-cash charge for the cancellation of its all-electric SUV and warned it could also incur $1.5 billion in future cash expenses.Production at the $5.6 billion Tennessee plant was to begin next year. Instead, it will begin battery production sometime in 2025. The rollout of new models will be held off until 2026 at the earliest.It said it would update its electrification plans in the first half of next year. Despite the miss, Ford’s shares were up about a dime on the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, to $10.80. They’ve lost about 10% year-to-date..“This is really about us being nimble and listening to responses from our customers,” Lawler said during a call Wednesday morning. “We’ve been out in the (EV) market here for over two years, and we’ve learned a lot, and what we’re understanding is that customers want more electrification choices.Ford joins companies like General Motors, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin who are scaling back or delaying electric vehicle plans.Consumer demand for EVs Have lagged as governments in North America and Europe scale back consumer incentives — especially in Europe — and smack punishing tariffs on cheaper Chinese models.Nonetheless sales of the vehicles are still predicted to increase in the years to come due to government mandates that the automakers are increasingly warning are too optimistic — and onerous..In Canada 100% of new vehicle sales are mandated to be electric by 2035.Instead, they are seeking more flexibility especially with respect to hybrids and pushing the target past 2050. The main complaint from consumers, apart from a lack of charging infrastructure, is that they’re just too expensive.“The market was never going to make a smooth transition to EVs, and we expected a slowdown in this shift as early adopters were satisfied,” said Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions. “Moving on to less tech-savvy buyers will slow the EV market share growth over the next few years.”Ford is the No. 2 EV maker in the US behind Tesla.Although Elon Musk’s flagship company saw global deliveries fall 6.5% in the first half of the year, Tesla said it was on track to roll out a cheaper EV said to cost around $25,000 by early 2025 — which analysts say will boost sales.
Ford’s EV strategy is in free fall after the Big Three automaker on Wednesday cancelled a US pickup truck factory, a three-row SUV and scaled back the introduction of new model pickup trucks and vans.It comes as the Big Three automaker warned Wednesday that its EV foibles could cost the company nearly USD$2 billion in coming quarters.Instead it plans to increase focus on gasoline powered cars and hybrids more favoured by consumers. It plans to keep making the Ford F-150 Lightning and Mustang MachE crossover..“As we’ve learned in the marketplace, and we’ve seen where people have gravitated, we’re going to focus in where we have competitive advantage, and that’s on commercial land trucks and SUVs,” Ford CFO John Lawler said Wednesday.The moves come as its Model-e division continues to lose about USD$44,000 on each unit sold, according to first half financial results released Wednesday. To that end it took a one-time USD$400 million non-cash charge for the cancellation of its all-electric SUV and warned it could also incur $1.5 billion in future cash expenses.Production at the $5.6 billion Tennessee plant was to begin next year. Instead, it will begin battery production sometime in 2025. The rollout of new models will be held off until 2026 at the earliest.It said it would update its electrification plans in the first half of next year. Despite the miss, Ford’s shares were up about a dime on the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, to $10.80. They’ve lost about 10% year-to-date..“This is really about us being nimble and listening to responses from our customers,” Lawler said during a call Wednesday morning. “We’ve been out in the (EV) market here for over two years, and we’ve learned a lot, and what we’re understanding is that customers want more electrification choices.Ford joins companies like General Motors, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin who are scaling back or delaying electric vehicle plans.Consumer demand for EVs Have lagged as governments in North America and Europe scale back consumer incentives — especially in Europe — and smack punishing tariffs on cheaper Chinese models.Nonetheless sales of the vehicles are still predicted to increase in the years to come due to government mandates that the automakers are increasingly warning are too optimistic — and onerous..In Canada 100% of new vehicle sales are mandated to be electric by 2035.Instead, they are seeking more flexibility especially with respect to hybrids and pushing the target past 2050. The main complaint from consumers, apart from a lack of charging infrastructure, is that they’re just too expensive.“The market was never going to make a smooth transition to EVs, and we expected a slowdown in this shift as early adopters were satisfied,” said Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions. “Moving on to less tech-savvy buyers will slow the EV market share growth over the next few years.”Ford is the No. 2 EV maker in the US behind Tesla.Although Elon Musk’s flagship company saw global deliveries fall 6.5% in the first half of the year, Tesla said it was on track to roll out a cheaper EV said to cost around $25,000 by early 2025 — which analysts say will boost sales.
