Ford Motor Co. executives have shelved plans to produce a three-row electric SUV and pushed back the timeline for the next generation of their electric truck by at least 18 months.

In their Aug. 21 announcement, President and CEO Jim Farley and CFO John Lawler said those plans — along with other moves to shift some battery production — fit with their goal of making future electric car models profitable within 12 months of launch. That strategy relies heavily on big cost and capital expenditure cuts, as well as a California-based “skunkworks” team that is rethinking much of the design and engineering of Ford vehicles.

“Today’s electric vehicle buyers are more cost-conscious than early adopters,” the executives said in a statement. “This, coupled with a plethora of new electric vehicles coming to market over the next 12 months and increasing compliance requirements, has increased pricing pressures. These dynamics underscore the need for a globally competitive cost structure while selecting customer and product segments.”

Specifically, Ford will:

• Push ahead with development of a three-row SUV that uses a hybrid propulsion system rather than being all-electric. The company had originally planned to start building the electric versions in Ontario in 2025, but this spring that timeline was pushed back to 2027. The delay in the all-electric plan means Ford will have to write off about $400 million worth of manufacturing equipment, and Farley and Lawler expect to spend another $1.5 billion to switch to hybrids.
• Start building an electric delivery truck in 2026 at its Ohio assembly plant near its Cleveland plant. That plan calls for using part of its profitable Ford Pro platform for businesses, which sells software and various services in addition to the vehicles themselves.
• Production of the company’s next-generation truck, codenamed Project T3, will be delayed from the previous target date of 2025 to the second half of 2027. Farley and Lawler said delaying work on that vehicle, which will be manufactured at Ford’s new BlueOval City campus in West Tennessee, will allow them to work on cheaper batteries and “other cost breakthroughs as the market continues to evolve.”
• Move some Mustang Mach-E battery production from Poland to western Michigan so the parts qualify for tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act.