On August 21, the famous American car company - Ford announced that it is making major changes to its electric vehicle plan. The company will focus more on affordable hybrid vehicles after admitting the US electric vehicle market is not what it expected, as customers become increasingly price-conscious and concerned about range. vehicle motion.
Accordingly, Ford has abandoned plans for its next electric sports utility vehicle (SUV). The American automaker decided to replace it with hybrid models, which typically offer shorter battery range, but longer overall range when combined with a gasoline engine.
However, this plan will cost Ford at least $400 million because the company needs to account for production equipment that was used to make electric SUVs but is no longer in use. At the same time, changes in the plan could cost this business up to 1.5 billion USD.
However, a Ford representative said they will improve battery supply and increase production efficiency to save costs. It is expected that only 30% of the company's annual capital expenditure will be devoted to pure electric vehicles in the future, down from 40% previously.
Although it is following Tesla in the electric vehicle manufacturing industry in the US, Ford's electric vehicle business is also developing quite well. Specifically, the Ford F-150 Lightning model is the best-selling electric truck in the US. However, vehicles using hybrid technology are becoming increasingly popular in the US, so Ford decided to meet customer needs at the present time.
Ford said it will continue to produce electric vehicles but at a slower pace. The next electric vehicle model that the company will "launch" is an electric van, expected to launch in 2026. Ford's goal is to compete with Rivian - a company that has signed a contract with Amazon to provide vehicles. electric valve for Amazon delivery service.
According to the plan, Ford will also develop an electric truck model that the company calls a "breakthrough", called Project T3. This truck will have a two-way charging feature, meaning it can supply power to the user's home in the event of a power outage. The major American automaker is expected to introduce this truck in the second half of 2027, later than the original plan. Ford also said improvements in battery production will help reduce costs for this truck.
On the other hand, Ford said hybrid vehicle sales (hybrid vehicles running on gasoline and electricity) reached 53,822 units, an increase of 56% over the same period in 2023 in the second quarter of 2024 and a new record (quarterly) for Ford. since it began offering hybrid models more than 20 years ago.
Automakers including Ford have relied on hybrids to ease the transition to electric vehicles and help meet ever-tightening government fuel economy standards.
Ford Motor CEO Jim Farley said he has scaled back some of the company's electric vehicle ambitions to better suit consumer needs. In the near future, hybrid vehicles will be Ford 's top priority to help customers move towards a battery-powered future.
Automaker Ford is also shifting its focus to producing larger electric trucks and SUVs, as well as smaller and affordable electric vehicles being developed by the “skunkworks” group in California.
Ford's strong commercial business has helped boost profits, and the manufacturer is betting on software-related services within the unit to boost profits in the coming years. next.
