By Nick Pope August 21, 2024 at 8:08am
Ford said Wednesday that it is canceling its plans to build a three-row electric SUV as the wider U.S. electric vehicle market continues to struggle.
The company announced that it expects to take up to $1.9 billion in write downs and other special charges related to its decision after losing billions of dollars on its EV product line in 2023. In addition to canceling its three-row electric SUV, Ford is also pushing back its plans to roll out an electric pickup truck model until 2027, a one-year setback.
Ford initially delayed its three-row electric SUV plans by two years earlier in 2024, pushing its launch date from 2025 to 2027. On top of announcing that it could take up to $1.9 billion in charges and write-downs, Ford lost about $130,000 on each EV it sold in the first quarter of 2024.
The broader U.S. EV market is struggling, as consumer demand for EVs has not been as robust as quickly as proponents may have initially expected. Companies other than Ford are losing large sums of money on their EV product lines, many firms are cutting prices to appeal to hesitant consumers and executives are backing off of some near-term production goals.
“We are launching multiple electric vehicles in Europe this year. We are adjusting the company’s North America vehicle roadmap to offer a range of electrification options designed to speed customer adoption, including lower prices and longer ranges,” a Ford spokesperson said. “In our fully electric portfolio, Ford will prioritize the introduction of a new digitally advanced commercial van in 2026, followed by two new advanced pickup trucks in 2027 and other future affordable electric vehicles.”
“As we’ve said previously, we aren’t going to launch vehicles unless they are going to be profitable within 12 months of launch,” the spokesperson continued, adding that Wednesday’s announcement “reflects our obsession with advancing quickly with the market to have competitive products customers love that are also profitable.”
Ford’s Wednesday announcement stands as the latest sign of trouble for the Biden administration’s EV agenda, which aims to have 50 percent of all new car sales in the U.S. be EVs by 2030.
Ford has been a beneficiary of the Biden administration’s EV push, including a conditional agreement reached with the Department of Energy to receive a $9.2 billion loan to assist a joint venture created by Ford and South Korean battery company SK On. More broadly, the administration is regulating aggressively and spending billions of dollars to increase EV production and adoption over the next decade.
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