Ford, General Motors and other carmakers have delayed or cancelled new electric models

[XCR1250]

Ford slows EV plans, delaying pickup and axing three-row SUV, to cut costs

Nora Eckert

Updated Wed, August 21, 2024 at 11:19 AM CDT·4 min read

 

By Nora Eckert

DETROIT (Reuters) -Ford Motor on Wednesday said it was killing a planned three-row electric SUV and pushing back a new electric version of its best-selling pickup, the F-150, the latest delay by the U.S. automaker as it focuses on cutting costs to stimulate demand.

Ford, General Motors and other carmakers have delayed or cancelled new electric models to avoid spending heavily on vehicles that consumers are not buying as quickly as anticipated.

"With pricing and margin compression, we've made the decision to adjust our product and technology roadmap and industrial footprint to meet our goal of reaching positive EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) within the first 12 months of launch for all new models," Ford Chief Financial Officer John Lawler said in a statement.

Ford also said it is adding a new electric mid-sized pickup and van to its future lineup as it doubles down on a strategy it has used in recent years, focusing on segments where it is already strong: pickup trucks and commercial vehicles. Ford's shares rose 1.1%.

The Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker has instead thrown more investment into hybrid vehicles, which combine an electric motor with a gasoline engine. Hybrid sales by Ford, Toyota and other carmakers have surged as consumers turn to the technology as a less costly halfway step between gas-powered cars and EVs.

"The criticism Ford will have to face is why its product plan was not more flexible from the beginning, why it has been slow to implement these changes, and why investors will need to wait for a comprehensive update until next year," Bernstein analyst Daniel Roeska said in a research note.

Ford CEO Jim Farley has said one of the main solutions to slowing EV sales growth is bringing the production costs around those models down. That is a key goal for the future health of the company, which is expected to lose up to $5.5 billion on EVs this year alone.

As Chinese competitors and Tesla continue to drive down costs on EV production, Farley has said he is staking the future of Ford on its specialized team in California, which has been developing an architecture for affordable EVs. The first vehicle based on that new technology will be the mid-sized electric pickup released in 2027.

The automaker will take a special non-cash charge of about $400 million for the write-down of certain assets for the previously planned three-row SUVs, which may also result in additional expenses and cash expenditures of up to $1.5 billion.

Given the increasing emphasis on hybrids, Ford said its share of annual capital spending dedicated to pure EVs will decline to about 30% from 40%.

 

Ford said it will start making an electric commercial van at its Ohio Assembly plant in 2026, hoping to capitalize on its success in the gas-engine commercial vehicle market.

Meanwhile, the long-awaited successor to Ford's F-150 Lightning electric truck is again delayed, now to the second half of 2027 from an initially planned 2025 launch, a move the company said will allow it to take advantage of lower-cost battery technology.

While Ford is shelving plans to produce an electric three-row SUV, it is moving to hybrid vehicles in that segment, aiming to woo customers with longer-range vehicles for road trips.

Ford also said it will relocate some battery production to qualify for incentives under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and further drive down costs, a top priority for Farley.

The carmaker will move some production of the batteries it makes with South Korean battery partner LG Energy Solution for its Mustang Mach-E cars from Poland to Holland, Michigan.

"An affordable electric vehicle starts with an affordable battery," Farley said in the statement.

Another battery joint venture, with SK Innovation in Kentucky, will begin manufacturing cells for the E-Transit van beginning in mid-2025 and batteries for Ford's new electric commercial van in Tennessee in late 2025.

The automaker said lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery production is on track to begin in 2026 at its battery park in Michigan and will qualify for IRA benefits.

Ford licenses technology from Chinese company CATL for its LFP batteries, an agreement that has come under heavy criticism from some lawmakers. The terms of that agreement are unchanged, a Ford spokeswoman said.

Ford said it will provide an update on electrification, technology, profitability and capital requirements in the first half of 2025.

(Reporting by Nora Eckert, additional reporting by Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru and Ben Klayman in Detroit; Editing by Louise Heavens, Bernadette Baum and Tomasz Janowski)

[Skidooski]

I was working on two of those Ford programs. One was canceled and the other pushed out. Now I get to enjoy Fall and Winter without working 6 or 7 days a week provided they don't give me the Scout Motors program when it comes in

[ActionfigureJoe]

Tesla, Chinese, and Koreans have the EV market. The legacy automakers are too dumb to create a good one. Best they give up. 

[revkevsdi]

They know they’ve left it too late. No way they can compete with China.  
 

They listened to idiots who said EV’s aren’t the future.  

[BOHICA]

These legacy manufactures have some near impossible hurdles to clear to become successful.  Production methods being one, Dealer networks being another, and the UAW.

 

the Detroit 3 have an easy out though and that is the government bailouts they have been accustomed to over their existence.

[Skidooski]

They are going back to hybrid designs most likely. It's not like they are going away at all lol

[Mainecat]

Battery powered they suck.

 

[revkevsdi]

3 hours ago, BOHICA said:

These legacy manufactures have some near impossible hurdles to clear to become successful.  Production methods being one, Dealer networks being another, and the UAW.

 

the Detroit 3 have an easy out though and that is the government bailouts they have been accustomed to over their existence.

To be fair the Chinese manufacturers probably all have government handouts of some sort.
 

But it’s worked.

We’ve just bought some machinery from China and it is on par or possibly better than their German competitors for 1/4 the cost. 

As for the UAW. How much per car does that cost vs the per car cost of the most recent pay out to Musk.  This one time payout to Musk is equal to $8,000.00 for every car they built to date. Or $140,000.00 per employee.  

[Crnr2Crnr]

5 hours ago, ActionfigureJoe said:

Tesla, Chinese, and Koreans have the EV market. The legacy automakers are too dumb to create a good one. Best they give up. 

don't forget the 'Japs' and their hybrids which actually work.

[ActionfigureJoe]

My nephew has a Kia EV. His dad, my BIL bought one just like and he’s over 80. He’s having a blast with it. Nephew travels a lot and has put on 75k. He had a windshield wiper arm break and new tires during that time. Kia has this EV thing nailed. Overall though, Tesla sits on the best seat in the house. Their tech and ability to pivot on design can’t be touched. 

[Crnr2Crnr]

Rivian... fuck Elon 

[ActionfigureJoe]

1 minute ago, Crnr2Crnr said:

Rivian... fuck Elon 

Niece’s hubby has one of those. He waited forever to take delivery. Other than the fact the driver’s assist stuff treats you like a moron, he loves it. He’s been pulling 400 miles for range. Not too shabby. 

[Crnr2Crnr]

1 minute ago, ActionfigureJoe said:

Niece’s hubby has one of those. He waited forever to take delivery. Other than the fact the driver’s assist stuff treats you like a moron, he loves it. He’s been pulling 400 miles for range. Not too shabby. 

they have new models coming as well... 

 

 

[Pete]

2 hours ago, Mainecat said:

Battery powered they suck.

 

Where is your ev ya big mouth hypocrite elitist fuck

[Mag6240]

10 minutes ago, ActionfigureJoe said:

Niece’s hubby has one of those. He waited forever to take delivery. Other than the fact the driver’s assist stuff treats you like a moron, he loves it. He’s been pulling 400 miles for range. Not too shabby. 

I wish all cars could turn off all that shit with the push of a button without having the big red “HEY MORON” light on the dash.  

[ActionfigureJoe]

52 minutes ago, Crnr2Crnr said:

they have new models coming as well... 

 

 

The R2 creamed the competition on Pike’s Peak. Zero power loss at altitude with an EV. I rode a motorcycle to the top of Pike’s several years ago. The power loss near the top is mind blowing. 

[revkevsdi]

Researchers from the University of Southern California found a three percent drop in asthma-related emergency visits for every two percent jump in the number of electric vehicles in each zip code.
 

So once again we see that Republicans don’t care about their fellow citizens. 
 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11707283/amp/Electric-cars-cause-significant-fall-asthma-hospital-admissions-kind-study-shows.html

[revkevsdi]

1 hour ago, ActionfigureJoe said:

My nephew has a Kia EV. His dad, my BIL bought one just like and he’s over 80. He’s having a blast with it. Nephew travels a lot and has put on 75k. He had a windshield wiper arm break and new tires during that time. Kia has this EV thing nailed. Overall though, Tesla sits on the best seat in the house. Their tech and ability to pivot on design can’t be touched. 

I’m not sure if that is true. My daughter has a model 3 and I prefer my ev6.  Tesla has the charging network down but it’s expensive.  When I travel I try to find time of use chargers.  $10.00 for 20 minutes which is about $15.00 cheaper. 

[ActionfigureJoe]

23 minutes ago, revkevsdi said:

I’m not sure if that is true. My daughter has a model 3 and I prefer my ev6.  Tesla has the charging network down but it’s expensive.  When I travel I try to find time of use chargers.  $10.00 for 20 minutes which is about $15.00 cheaper. 

Kia sold about 12,000 and Tesla half a million in one year. Personal preference is one thing. Market dominance is something all together different. There’s no one that’s going to touch Elon, IMO. 

[revkevsdi]

8 minutes ago, ActionfigureJoe said:

Kia sold about 12,000 and Tesla half a million in one year. Personal preference is one thing. Market dominance is something all together different. There’s no one that’s going to touch Elon, IMO. 

Time will tell. Hyundai group is only a few years in.  BYD will fuck everyone over without heavy tariffs. They are the largest manufacturer and they have a sub $10,000.00 car.  
 

[Mainecat]

5 hours ago, Pete said:

Where is your ev ya big mouth hypocrite elitist fuck

There isn’t a plug big enough to fit your ass.

[BOHICA]

I much prefer my Tesla model 3 over my quad motor Rivian R1S.  The Tesla is just cheap on electricity and rips for what it is plus the no fuss network of charging makes it outstanding for the long haul.  The supercharger network is just so much cheaper and more reliable then the other public available charging networks

 

[BOHICA]

5 hours ago, ActionfigureJoe said:

The R2 creamed the competition on Pike’s Peak. Zero power loss at altitude with an EV. I rode a motorcycle to the top of Pike’s several years ago. The power loss near the top is mind blowing. 

That wasn’t the R2 at pikes…. It was a Gen 2 R1T quad motor with Rivian’s in house motors pushing over 1000hp

[Deephaven]

1 hour ago, BOHICA said:

I much prefer my Tesla model 3 over my quad motor Rivian R1S.  The Tesla is just cheap on electricity and rips for what it is plus the no fuss network of charging makes it outstanding for the long haul.  The supercharger network is just so much cheaper and more reliable then the other public available charging networks

 

You are seriously deranged.  Sitting in a model 3 is brutal and it's a complete piece of shit as a car.  The Rivian is a million times the car the Tesla is.

[BOHICA]

9 minutes ago, Deephaven said:

You are seriously deranged.  Sitting in a model 3 is brutal and it's a complete piece of shit as a car.  The Rivian is a million times the car the Tesla is.

Having both I don’t agree with your opinion.  The model 3 is stellar.  The updated highland model 3 is supposedly a bit better as well.  Crossed over 70k miles in just over 2.5 years of ownership on the Tesla 3.  Wiper blades, washer fluid, cabin air filters and a set of tires.  The Car is the Goat.  I even prefer it over the daughters model Y.  Rivian is a good family hauler though.

Edited August 23 by BOHICA