Poor sales results for electric vehicles are pushing the Dearborn-based company to rethink its strategies. Increasing production of hybrid vehicles and cutting costs are the next short-term goals
Ford announced the cancellation of its new electric SUV three-row, despite the latter’s market arrival being scheduled for 2025. At the same time, the Blue Oval company has postponed the release of the new battery-powered version of the F-150 pick-up to 2027, initially scheduled for 2025. A sharp slowdown, therefore, in terms of electric transition. The reason? The modest sales results of electric models: The Blue Oval’s EV (electric vehicle) sector risks closing 2024 with a loss of 5.5 billion dollars. The cancellation of the three-row SUV will lead to further losses, but the American company has preferred to take cover anyway. In parallel with the farewell of the three-row electric SUV and the delay of the new F-150, in fact, Ford will also try to correct the direction of its strategy by focusing on the cost cutting and on the increase in investments in the production of hybrid vehicles.
towards the hybrid
—
The statements of Marin Gjaja, COO (Chief Operating Officer) of Ford’s EV division, confirmed the change in strategy on the fly: “The reality is that the market has changed, when we saw the growth rate slow down, we rushed to recover ground”. Sales of hybrid vehicles in the United States are increasing for Ford (as well as for other large car manufacturers, including Toyota). In fact, there are many customers who feel more ready to buy a hybrid car rather than a 100% electric one. Ford has therefore announced that the share of annual spending on electric cars will drop from 40 to 30 percent and that part of the capital saved will be used for the development and marketing of new hybrid vehicles.
cost cutting
—
Ford CEO Jim Farley also said that reducing the production costs of electric cars is essential for the sector to grow. In fact, in addition to charging anxiety, the list price of electric vehicles is one of the factors that most discourages customers from purchasing this type of vehicle. In order to reduce the costs of their electric models, Ford has assembled a specialized team in California, whose main goal is to develop a more affordable EV architecture. The hope for the Blue Oval is that the first fruits of the work of this new division can be seen in 2027, when the new electric version of the F-150 pick-up will be released. Without forgetting the ambitious goal of reducing the cost of batteries as well. To succeed in this undertaking, Ford would like to move part of its battery production from Poland (where, in collaboration with LG Energy Solution, the Mustang Mach-E batteries are produced) to Michigan, in order to be able to take advantage of the incentives provided by the Inflation Reduction Act (Ira). The American incentive scheme is in fact valid for components built on US soil and not abroad.
2024-09-01 10:46:01
#Ford #Electric #SUV #ThreeRow #Model #Cancelled