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Diving certificate:

• Ford Motor Co. said Wednesday it will stop producing an electric SUV with three rows of seats in a bid to cut costs amid weaker demand for electric vehicles and price pressure. Press releaseThe company is also postponing the launch of its next-generation electric truck to the second half of 2027.
• Instead, the automaker will rely on hybrid technology for its next SUVs with three rows of seats, which will result in a $400 million write-down on production equipment. The decision may also result in additional expenses and cash outlays of up to $1.5 billion.
• “Given price and margin compression, we have made the decision to adjust our product and technology roadmap and our industrial footprint to meet our goal of achieving positive EBIT within the first 12 months of launch of all new models,” said John Lawler, Ford’s vice chairman and CFO, in the press release.

Diving insight:

By switching from pure electric vehicles to hybrid vehicles, Ford expects capital expenditures for pure electric vehicles to fall by 40 to 30 percent. previously postponed the launch of the fully electric SUV in April.

Now Ford will focus its electrification efforts on a “digitally advanced” delivery truck to be assembled at the company’s Ohio assembly plant in 2026. Then, as its skunkworks team unveils its new, lower-cost EV platform, the automaker plans to launch a midsize electric pickup truck in 2027.

“We have recruited the most technically savvy and creative professionals inside and outside of Ford to drive a radical change in electric vehicle development,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said in the press release. “The work of this highly talented team has become a critical enabler of our electric vehicle strategy.”

Farley also pointed to the company’s accelerated battery production efforts, saying, “An affordable electric vehicle starts with an affordable battery.”

The Kentucky 1 plant of the BlueOval SK joint venture will produce cells for Ford’s extended-range E-Transit vans and the F-150 Lightning starting in mid-2025 – earlier than previously expected. Meanwhile, BlueOval SK in BlueOval City, Tennessee, will produce cells for the automaker’s new electric delivery van starting in late 2025.

Ford’s electric vehicle division, Model e, loss of $1.1 billion in the second quarter, almost offsetting the $1.2 billion profit from the Blue division, which represents vehicles with internal combustion engines. Ford Pro, which includes Super Duty trucks and Transit commercial vehicles, reported 2.6 billion US dollars Profit for the quarter increased 7% year-on-year.

Ford announced it will provide an update on electrification, technology, profitability and capital requirements in the first half of 2025.