Ford adjusts EV lineup, adds hybrids, to protect profits
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Ford is again shifting its electrification strategy — delaying a planned electric pickup truck by 18 months and killing plans for a 3-row electric SUV.
Why it matters: After losing billions of dollars on electric vehicles in recent years, Ford now says it won't launch any EVs unless they can be profitable in the first 12 months.
- So as it rolls out its next generation of EVs, the company plans to lean into market segments where it already dominates: commercial vans and pickup trucks.
- In highly competitive segments like SUVs, Ford will offer a wider portfolio of electric, hybrid and gasoline vehicles to meet consumers where they are.
Driving the news: Ford laid out a series of revisions to its future product plans.
- A new connected electric van for tradespeople and commercial businesses will begin production in 2026 in Ohio.
- A medium-sized electric pickup — the first of a new low-cost EV platform developed by a skunkworks team in California — will follow in 2027.
- A full-size electric pickup, a successor to the current F-150 Lightning, is now pushed back to 2027.
- A planned three-row electric SUV will now be an advanced hybrid instead.
- Ford is also shifting battery production from Poland to Michigan to take advantage of federal tax credits for U.S.-manufactured batteries.
There's a financial cost to all this lineup rejiggering.
- Ford said it will write off $400 million in sunk costs on the electric SUV, with an additional $1.5 billion in write-downs possible in future quarters.
Between the lines: Ford is reluctant to enter the mosh pit of mainstream electric SUVs, where competition is intensifying and profits are hard to come by.
- Nearly 150 electric vehicles are hitting the market in the next few years, and the vast majority of them are SUVs, with big, expensive batteries.
- The highly acclaimed Kia EV9, for example, is now being offered with discounts of up to $18,000.
- "When we looked at the cost structure, and the pricing, we couldn't make a vehicle that would be profitable in the first 12 months of launch," Chief Financial Officer John Lawler told reporters.
What to watch: Instead, for these larger family vehicles, Ford is looking at advanced hybrid technologies, including extended-range hybrids that have a range of up to 600 miles.
What they're saying: "We are committed to innovating in America, creating jobs and delivering incredible new electric and hybrid vehicles that make a real difference in CO2 reduction," Ford President and CEO Jim Farley said in a statement.
- "We learned a lot as the No. 2 U.S. electric vehicle brand [behind Tesla] about what customers want and value, and what it takes to match the best in the world with cost-efficient design, and we have built a plan that gives our customers maximum choice and plays to our strengths."
