Ford CEO Jim Farley at an automotive battery lab in suburban Detroit, announcing a new $3.5 billion electric vehicle battery plant in the state to produce lithium iron phosphate batteries, February 13, 2023.
Michael Wayland/CNBC
DETROIT – Ford Motor is delaying production of a new all-electric large SUV and truck as it shifts to offer hybrid options across its entire North American lineup by 2030.
The Detroit Auto Industry he said Thursday will continue to invest in EVs, but is delaying production of the three-row SUV at a plant in Canada to 2027 from its original plan of 2025. The next-generation pickup, codenamed “T3,” is being pushed back from late 2025 to 2026 .
The shift in EV designs is the latest for Ford and the entire auto 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 electric vehicles because of changing market conditions and challenges to profitably building and selling the vehicles. It was not immediately clear if the new delays were part of those plans.
“As the No. 2 EV brand in the U.S. for the past two years, we are committed to scaling a profitable EV business by using capital wisely and bringing the right gas, hybrid and all-electric vehicles to market at the right time,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said Thursday in a statement.
The three-row SUV was part of an estimated $1.3 billion investment to transition Ford’s Oakville, Ontario, Canada assembly plant into a new electric vehicle hub. It was supposed to be the first time Ford has completely rebuilt a North American facility that produces gas-powered vehicles into a unit that makes EVs.
“The additional time will allow the three-series EV consumer market to develop further and allow Ford to take advantage of emerging battery technology, with the goal of offering customers greater durability and better value,” the company said. in a release.
Ford has said it will continue to focus its EV efforts on new plants like its own The “BlueOval City” campus in Tennessee instead of transitioning current facilities that produce motor vehicles to all-electric models.
“Our revolutionary next-generation electric vehicles will be new from the ground up and fully equipped with software, with ever-improving digital experiences and many possible services,” said Farley.
Ford stock over the past five years
The automaker said the massive Tennessee facility, which was part of an $11.4 billion investment announced in 2021, will begin production of Ford’s next-generation electric truck, codenamed “T3,” in 2026 rather than in 2025.
Ford said it is continuing to build battery plants in Michigan, Tennessee and Kentucky.
In the first quarter of 2024, Ford’s electric vehicle sales rose 86% from the previous year’s sluggish levels. Sales of hybrids for the automotive industry rose 42% year-over-year, while sales of Ford’s traditional vehicles with internal combustion engines rose 2.6%.
Ford’s “Model e” electric vehicle business lost $4.7 billion in 2023, including $1.57 billion in the fourth quarter. In February, the automaker said it expected the unit to lose between $5 billion and $5.5 billion in 2024.