Ford’s making a lot of Corporate Speak, but, come on, we can all see that the EV push is not going well (via The First Street Journal)
Ford to delay all-electric SUV to focus on offering hybrid vehicles across its lineup by 2030
Ford Motor is delaying production of a new all-electric three row SUV, 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 large SUV at a plant in Canada from 2025 to 2027 to allow for the market to mature more.
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 EVs due to the shifting market conditions as well as challenges to profitably building and selling the vehicles.
“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,” said Jim Farley, Ford president and CEO. “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.”
Blah blah blah. Ford says their sales of EVs rose 86% from 2022, but, they didn’t have that many the year before. And, for all their yammering and pushing, they still only have the the Lightning and “Mustang” (is it really a Mustang at this point? It may be competing for least popular with the 1969 Ford Mustang E. At least it looked like a Mustang). And six hybrids, five of which are standard and one is a plugin. You do not see many of the Explorer hybrids around, nor the F-150 hybrid or Transit. The Escape and Maverick do sell better. That should be the focus, but, come on, the Escapes are low ranking vehicles for resale value.
Consumers are willing to accept standard hybrids, and do not want to be forced into EVs.
What electric vehicle shoppers want isn’t what’s for sale, and it’s hurting sales: poll.
Are you there, electric vehicle makers? It’s me, an EV shopper.
Judging by the EVs on the market, EV makers aren’t there listening to what consumers want, according to auto comparison company Edmunds.
EV battery longevity worries, range anxiety and lack of charging infrastructure are all known concerns, but there’s also a wide gap between what car shoppers want and what’s for sale, Edmunds’ 2024 EV consumer sentiment survey shows.
These factors together can make the uphill climb to mass EV purchases even steeper. Edmunds predicts the rate of EV growth will continue slowing through 2024, increasing to just 8% of new vehicle market share from 6.9% last year and 5.2% in 2022.
What consumers want is lower prices. Cars and SUVs, not pickups (which is interesting, because a lot of consumers are forgoing sedans right now. That could change). And
EVs from the most trusted brands: Toyota and Honda rank third and fourth as the most trusted makers of consumer EVs, with Tesla and BMW taking the top two spots, respectively.
Reality:Toyota has just one EV on the market in the U.S., while Honda’s just beginning to sell its first pure electric.
Consumers for Toyota and Honda, though, aren’t exactly asking for them. A small minority are asking, but, even less are actually interested in purchasing. Bringing the E: Ny1 over from Europe, an SUV a bit smaller than a CRV, could make a big difference. Then there’s the range issue. If they were smart, they’d make a big push for standard hybrids, and ease into EVs when consumers want them.
Fox Business’s @Grady_Trimble: “So, is it realistic to go from about seven or eight percent of sales to 50 percent of sales in eight years If the automakers themselves are cutting back pro — on production?”
KJP: “We believe — and we've seen that — that U.S. manu — U.S.… pic.twitter.com/fGxTTrDJk6
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) April 4, 2024
It’s worth clicking them to see the full exchange, but, as I noted to Grady, he needs to ask if she drives one. If other people in the Brandon Regime drive one. And why isn’t Brandon tooling around in one, along with all the dozens of chase vehicles.
Darn those pesky consumers for not going along with the dictates of Our Betters.
Yep. Maga is trying to force their wills on everyone….not going well except for within the believers.
AGW… They are trying to force their will on everyone, but it is not going well.
Christians and Muslims trying to force their will on everyone….not going well.
Abortion vs Pro-Life is tryin’ to force their wills on everyone. It’s not going well….
PFIZER is tryin’ to force covid 19 vacs on people It’s not going well.
It goes on and on. That is why I said they should go the hybrid route until they can soundly switch to Green energy without a total collapse of the world’s economy and driving the world to starvation and anarchy.
The market is speaking and most automakers will listen. If customers won’t buy them, no one is going to build them, at least in the numbers Brandon wants. EV’s aren’t ready for prime time and in particular, their charging and support infrastructure systems are far from ready. When an EV is as convenient and comparable in cost to an ICE vehicle, then we may see broader acceptance.
We are going to have to burn a lot of coal to generate enough electricity for all those cars.
A giga-load of coal.
If there was just another way to generate electricity other than coal…
There is: natural gas, of which the United States is the largest producer in the world. Our reserves are 368,704,000 million cubic feet, fourth in the world. We produce 32,914,647 MMft³ and consume 27,243,858 MMft³, leaving us with 5,670,789 MMft³ for export.
But we also have huge reserves of coal:
We should use these coal reserves, not just let them lie dead and useless in the ground.
I have read elsewhere that Ford lost $36000 for every F-150 Lightning sold in 2023 for a $50k to $70k truck…so they should have been on the market from $86k to $106k…seriously???
From USA Today, not exactly an evil reich-wing source: If you like your car, good luck keeping it. Biden’s EV mandate drives change people don’t want.
The resident Mr Dana notes correctly that US Today is not an evil reich-wing source. On the other hand, the lovely Ms Jacques is an opinionist whose work also has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, National Review (online), the Washington Examiner, Real Clear Politics, and the Weekly Standard, among others.
As my Uncle Charlie used to say, “Opinions are like assholes; everybody has one”.
BTW, the Earth is warming, a result of greenhouse gases we add to the atmosphere.