Ford’s electrical three-row SUV that was postponed earlier this yr is now formally canceled. It’s solely one in every of Ford’s EV- and hybrid vehicle-related bulletins in the present day.
Along with the SUV’s pre-launch demise, Ford stated it’s delaying manufacturing for its next-generation electrical pickup constructed on the T3 platform. This may-be Lightning successor (constructed on a devoted EV platform as an alternative of a modified F-150 one) is alleged to be pushed again by about 18 months into late 2027. A midsize truck underneath improvement by a Ford “skunkworks” crew in California (with the purpose being affordability) can also be scheduled to launch in 2027.
As a substitute of the three-row electrical SUV, Ford says it’s turning consideration to hybrid automobiles for future three-row choices. There’s no timeline, however Ford’s assertion says to anticipate “breakthrough effectivity, efficiency advantages and emissions reductions versus pure fuel automobiles and prolong the vary of the automobile on street journeys relative to pure electrical automobiles.” Ford additionally said that it will present an replace on the corporate’s electrification plans within the first half of 2025, so maybe we’ll study extra subsequent yr.
All that stated, Ford stays dedicated to updating and evolving its present EVs, the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning. It additionally plans to start manufacturing of a next-generation business van in 2026 at its Ohio Meeting plant. And whereas Ford was initially meant to start automobile meeting at its big Tennessee manufacturing facility subsequent yr, now it solely plans on battery cell manufacturing there in 2025.
These strikes will price Ford financially, as the corporate says it “will take a particular non-cash cost of about $400 million for the write-down of sure product-specific manufacturing property for the beforehand deliberate all-electric three-row SUVs.” Ford additionally says such actions may end in further bills and money expenditures of $1.5 billion. By way of total spending, Ford says it can cut back its annual money expenditures on EVs from 40% to 30%. In the end, Ford believes these strikes in the present day will assist it ship a worthwhile EV enterprise sooner or later.
