- The Ford F-150 Lightning has been canceled, as has its all-electric replacement, codenamed “T3.”
- Meanwhile, China’s electric vehicle and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) options continue to make inroads into cheaper segments around the world.
- Ford’s Universal EV platform is still on track to launch in 2027.
The F-150 Lightning will get a gas engine. An American-made commercial electric van has been scrapped to make a gas-powered and hybrid vehicle. The supposedly revolutionary EV follow-up to Lightning, codenamed T3, has now been cancelled. Battery stations are being reused in AI data centers, while the names of stations that once powered electric vehicles are losing the monikers that implied they would build our electric future. In Europe, Ford hopes for the future of small electric cars Looks like the rest is on Reno now.
I’ll be honest here: This sounds like bad news for the future of American manufacturing and the competitiveness of our electric vehicle market. Especially coming from Ford Motor Company, whose leadership has spent years sounding the alarm about China’s electric vehicle sector. Podcast, Paintings And in Glamorous features in the New York Times.
At some point, Ford has to live up to all the things he said. But when push comes to shove lately, it’s been back to the gas.
Photo by: Ford
It’s true that the Ford Model E electric car program has been a huge money loser. This is partly due to how these electric vehicles are made. Ford claims it has incurred a massive $19 billion loss just to scale back its previous electric vehicle plans. The Lightning may be the best-selling EV pickup truck, but its sales have been much lower than expected, while the truck itself It never reached the original $40,000 base price that was promised when it was announced. Even with the higher base prices the F-150 Lightning sold for, the truck still bleeds money for the brand.
However, this announcement sounds like it has happened before. The last time I heard what seemed like a short-sighted decision from Ford was when it decided to cancel all of its sedan and hatchback models. The move was once called smart, as the automaker focused on crossovers, trucks, and SUVs, but now I bet the company regrets the huge markets it left to competitors. If you look at the sales charts, Ford’s previous small and midsize sedans, hatchbacks, and even small crossover options are being gobbled up by Korean and Japanese competitors. Check sales charts outside the US, and you’ll find that cheap electric cars and hybrids from China are increasingly making their way into Ford’s former territory.
BYD Dolphin Surf (European specifications)
Photography: BYD
This latest pivot may help Ford shore up its finances after a rough year of tariffs, recalls and EV losses. But it feels like the kind of move that creates a hangover later.
We know what’s at stake in terms of jobs, manufacturing and technology in the auto industry, especially since then Ford CEO Jim Farley is constantly in the news and talking about it. He was very frank about how horrified he was by what he saw in China. But if America is really trying to outmaneuver China, it looks like China has already won.
Here’s Ford backing away from more competition. Extended-range electric vehicles, or EREVs, appear to be about to have a moment, but they are largely unproven in the U.S. market; Nothing is even for sale here yet. Ford also halted its plans to produce a three-row electric crossover. Ford says it’s learned what its electric vehicles can and can’t do the hard way, and that customers want range, towing and affordability — something trucks with big batteries can’t really do. Point taken. But instead of innovating like other automakers, Ford has been in decline mode for at least two years.
Instead, its plans for the electric future are all based on new EV architecture, Ford’s global electric vehicle platform. On paper, it sounds great: a lot of new electric vehicles, starting with a truck that costs about $30,000. But we have not yet seen anything concrete about this. Until we see something in the dealerships, it might as well be a vaporware. Given the cancellation announcements and “product axis” Its future seems bleak. Will Ford’s revolutionary electric vehicle platform happen?
The gap between Ford’s words and its product plans must be addressed. Farley himself is a big fan of the Xiaomi SU7. However, Xiaomi’s success is just one example of Chinese EV products dominating and impressing the market. China Inc. can Easy to go back and add internal combustion and hybrid offerings to its already strong lineup of electric vehicles.
We’re already seeing this in China and abroad, where brands like Zeekr, Xpeng, and BYD have hybridized their affordable electric car variants for people who don’t read to go all-electric. Recently, BYD released a PHEV version of the Atto 2 crossover for Europe only. It has a new hybrid wagon coming soon there as well. I’m not convinced that this process works well in reverse, especially for Ford. By comparison, rival General Motors has put its money where its mouth is by putting its electric vehicle lineup on the road, increasingly profitably, with concrete plans to lure drivers to more affordable vehicles.
Photography: BYD
It’s no secret that demand for electric vehicles is much lower than some brands, including Ford, expected. However, weak demand does not mean no demand – and the return to gas seems puzzling, disappointing and perhaps even a sign of political acquiescence in a country that is staunchly opposed to any kind of scientific progress. When the President of the United States and the head of the Department of Transportation talk about electric vehicles being a “scam,” an ad of this caliber seems more than just a curiosity. Now it’s worth wondering how long the Mustang Mach-E will last, too. Taking into account that its sales have been relatively slow globally and that Ford prefers to grow its car and crossover electric vehicles over Renault and Volkswagen, I can’t get past them.
I hope for Ford’s sake that its future small EV platform is as good as Farley says it is, because it looks like Ford is betting the farm on this thing. We won’t even know for another two years. But at this point, no one should be shocked if Ford follows “customer choice” and removes that battery in favor of a Power Stroke diesel.
Contact the author: kevin.williams@insideevs.com
