Anyone getting Concerned that Ford is not in on EV for the long haul

[RickLightning]

search for their press release from yesterday. They are in fact doubling down on EV production. Making a three row SUV, mid size truck, and new ev truck along with commercial van all set to come out in 2027.

No, they're not. There is no 3 row SUV EV going to be made. They moved it out, then to the end of the decade, now cancelled it.

T3 was early 2025 and is now late 2027.

There is zero positive in their actions.

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[WilliamRobert]

I think Ford is going forward with electric vehicles but has decided to do it quietly so they don’t lose their die hard ice head customers now. https://www.cnbc.com/2024/07/18/ford-canada-large-truck-production.html

 

[JRT]

Good response, for me I'm please with my Lightning because I went in eyes wide open after 2 years and 30k miles on a 21 Mach-e SR. This was a good move for me for 90% of my use, it is not good for my travel needs and area. I fully knew this going in and decided to accept the disadvantage of an EV to meet my 100% needs.

There is no immediate future where I will consider being 100% EV, in fact I bought my wife a 2024 Nissan Z a month ago. It is a manual, she wanted ot that way, and a hoot to drive. We are officially empty nest so future trips will be Z trips to avoid the ridiculous travel impact of EV charging.

Now do I blame Ford or infrastructure, nope, this is change that may be a long time and it also may always be fuel and EV too. It is ridiculous to think all of the USA can be EV, the use case must be considered. Ford slowing down means maybe we get better products with more time to properly develops vs rush out to beat a competitor.

I also never said you can't do road trips, but adding hours to trips is not an option for most. I'm up front and honest, just because a some are happy with 40 min stops every 200 is miles doesn't mean that is the right model for everyone.

Last week we took my daughter to school in Hattiesburg, MS from Huntsville, AL. This is a 330 mile 1 way trip, the Lightning does not do any better then 2m/kwh at 70 mph on these roads in the south. Mississippi is an utter EV charging hell hole of nothing better then 50kwh stations on this route. So luckily I left an hour earlier then my daughter who drove her Altima. I have an A2Z adaptor and planned to hit a Tesla SC outside of Tuscaloosa. She took a bit long to catch up so I sat on a charger till 95%, well over an hour, but I had to have 90% anyway based on a very limited options when we got to Hattiesburg. The next day was about getting her moved. Around 1 we took the truck to a Chevy dealership and got a free charge to 90% which was over 2.5 hrs sitting there! Luckily the dealership was really nice and we had my daughter's Altima to go out and not hang out in a waiting room. That night I left the truck on a charger behind a restaurant to get to 100%, that was over 3 hours there. Return trip home next day still required the Tesla stop to drop of my daughter's boy friend off who helped with the move, so I did a 90% charge again. My EV cost for charging was $63.28 for just over 700 miles not factoring in my charging cost at home and then 2 charging in Hattiesburg were free.

So I've road trip this route and to central FL, it all sucks to spend hours extra to road trip, and I venture to say most fell this way too. So technology has to catch up on speed, cost has to be a lot less, and infrastructure is a long ways away from jump in a truck and drive anywhere without hours of planning a d research. That is the facts and no fan boy EV will change that till EV is no different then driving an ICE for most users.

 

[RickKeen]

Ford is missing the opportunity. As an Explorer owner, I know that a full EV Explorer is the perfect use case for an EV suburban grocery getter and kid hauler.

So much so that we looked at the Rivian. Test drove a used one at a traditional car dealer. They had no clue ho to sell it. On top of that, One-Pedal driving made it an impossible sell to my wife - she hated driving it on first impression. Other than that, the Rivian would have been perfect replacement for the Explorer. It was a very nice vehicle.

Ford could sell hundreds of thousands of EV Explorers in the US with better dealer incentive/training, and their two-pedal blended braking that requires zero learning curve for drivers new to EVs.

Also, they need to provide the NACS adapter with the vehicle - they are burning the trust of their customers with poor support and poor delivery of promised upgrades later and software updates.

 

[Shawnson]

Honestly, took me a day after the news to think about this. It’s probably a political bet. Betting on DT getting in, DT gets in, tax credits go away, EVs get more expensive, they are guessing it will be tough sledding for a couple more years. 2027 pushes it back closer to end of term.

 

[earlyadopt]

No worries at all. The Rubicon has been crossed and maybe the march to Rome will be slower than expected but there's no going back to all ICE vehicles and Ford is "too big to fail" ... hit some potholes maybe.

Not sure the term "Too big to fail" is accurate. 2008 saw major bale outs to the big three. GM were giving a dividend while loosing money. The ultimate demonstration of stupid. Once the self driving car is perfected to the point of full adoption, car Manufactures will drop like flies. Only the strongest will survive. The lack of good execution still concerns me. The constant pushing back of new products and more importantly, the lack of software updates is a huge concern. The fact we are driving a computer should be a big consideration. How many of us would feel comfortable investing $60,000 in a computer system that runs on a proprietary software that no other software would work, in addition to the hardware service. Would you consider the future of that company and if they would be around?
This is an added element to the buying process, no longer can a back alley mechanic work on your truck.

 

[earlyadopt]

Ford is a for profit corporation. They made a bold EV plan to leap into a future that made better sence. Bless them!
But the winds and conditions have changed quicker and more severe than expected and Ford must now slow down the cash burn AND allow time to heal many of the political, financial and technological road blocks thrown in its path.
This is what a great company should do.
Ford (and others) is now in a new adaptive stage to better align with the need for newer technology to increase performance while also decreasing production costs and PRICE.
I would guess they will now focus on limiting the number of models, focus on commercial and lighter/less expensive vehicles for consumers.
They need to just step back a bit, then be prepared to jump in again when better efficiencies exist and charging network are available.
I see no reason to panic and dump my beautiful truck. It's still, the best vehicle on the market for me.

Tell that to the Chinese manufactures. They are coming out with more and more advances and the N.A car companies are backing away. Not the posture of a winning strategy. Shareholders first, with the eventual demise of the company in the long term.

 

[climateguy]

Ford isn't going to be all in on EVs until their customers are. They have to make a profit, or they won't exist.

 

[anewbe]

Hello to everyone in the forum

I am a bit of a junky for EV news, developments and new Tech. It will not come to anyones surprise that there has been a bit of a push back with the transition to EV. Loads of mis-information by people that have no clue about what they are talking about. Most probably either don't own one or bought one with the wrong spec or application. IE they haul heavy and travel long distances the majority of the time.

Any rate I will get to the point now, driving an EV is pretty much driving a computer that gets you from A to B efficiently. The fact it is a computer and by changing software, things can become more efficient and useable. Tesla has demonstrated just how much they can improve on older models efficiency by changing the software that runs the car. They can even add new features with an upload. Long term longevity with Tesla is not in question.

This brings me to FORD, Ford has made some rather large retreats in this segment of the market. They have either dropped future projects or delayed them by years. So looking at FORD now as a future EV company, I am having doubts. I lease 2 vehicles from FORD, MachE and Lightning. The MachE will go back at the end of the lease ( I figure I will be able to buy a new car for the price of the residual). With the Lightning, I was planning to keep it for it utility nature of the car and since it is electric, it will have a long life left in 4 yrs. Here's my challenge, I was going to buy it out after the first month of the lease and save the interest and call it a day.
Now with all the moves Ford is making in a negative way, I am not sure that they will either be around to service the vehicle or keep the software improvements happening. Software with Ford is not their best quality. This is not by any means a FORD bash, heck I leased 2 of them.

Any thoughts or insights??

Did I make the wrong decision and jump onto the wrong horse??

Cheers!

As long as Ford does not abandon/discontinue the Lightning model I am okay with any other changes or plans they make for EV's. If they discontinue the Lightning it will mean a big reduction in trade or resale value. That makes would make my purchase of it a bad decision. The truck is great! 14K miles and I love it. But it will have to go at some point and trade value will determine if financially I would have been better off with an ICE F150.

 

[Rthol21]

No, they're not. There is no 3 row SUV EV going to be made. They moved it out, then to the end of the decade, now cancelled it.

T3 was early 2025 and is now late 2027.

There is zero positive in their actions.

You’re right, I misread that they changed the three row to hybrid. Regardless, they are making a new mid size truck, new full size truck, and commercial van. Safe to assume they know where the money is since they already have the Mach-E that they technically classify as a SUV.
I’m not too worried about it, the world of vehicles has changed and will continue to change, ford will continue to stay in the game and I have loved my Lightning the two years I have had it.

 

[FirstF150InCasco]

Not sure the term "Too big to fail" is accurate. 2008 saw major bale outs to the big three. GM were giving a dividend while loosing money. The ultimate demonstration of stupid. Once the self driving car is perfected to the point of full adoption, car Manufactures will drop like flies. Only the strongest will survive. The lack of good execution still concerns me. The constant pushing back of new products and more importantly, the lack of software updates is a huge concern. The fact we are driving a computer should be a big consideration. How many of us would feel comfortable investing $60,000 in a computer system that runs on a proprietary software that no other software would work, in addition to the hardware service. Would you consider the future of that company and if they would be around?
This is an added element to the buying process, no longer can a back alley mechanic work on your truck.

Ford did NOT get bailed out by the government in 2008. GM and Chrysler did. Ford survived on its own.

 

[earlyadopt]

Disappointing news to some extent but not unexpected by any stretch given current costs of EV's. But, to hear the Ford Execs. mention lack of infrastructure is frustrating. Stop complaining about lack of charging infrastructure and do something about it. Stop supporting those who throw up road blocks to increasing charging locations and support those who want a resolution that'll help your vision of greater EV sales and broader usage., and acceptance.

Agreed, since most people charge at home and this makes the financial case for EV, infrastructure does not have the impact now compared to 10 yrs ago. Ford is playing into the oil giants hands.

As long as Ford does not abandon/discontinue the Lightning model I am okay with any other changes or plans they make for EV's. If they discontinue the Lightning it will mean a big reduction in trade or resale value. That makes would make my purchase of it a bad decision. The truck is great! 14K miles and I love it. But it will have to go at some point and trade value will determine if financially I would have been better off with an ICE F150.

This news effects me in that I was going to buy out the lease early and save a few dollars. Now with these developments and a lack of direction, I think the prudent choice would be to sit on it and wait for developments to happen and see if owning the Truck make sense in 4 yrs. I just leased it last month. So time is on my side.

 

[FirstF150InCasco]

As long as Ford does not abandon/discontinue the Lightning model I am okay with any other changes or plans they make for EV's. If they discontinue the Lightning it will mean a big reduction in trade or resale value. That makes would make my purchase of it a bad decision. The truck is great! 14K miles and I love it. But it will have to go at some point and trade value will determine if financially I would have been better off with an ICE F150.

I ALREADY know that I would have been better off FINANCIALLY with an ICE 150. But I am EMOTIONALLY better off with the Lightning. It's a joy every time I get in and drive.

 

[earlyadopt]

Ford did NOT get bailed out by the government in 2008. GM and Chrysler did. Ford survived on its own.

Yes, they were the one that was financial stable and of the big three in N.A. they maybe the one to survive. The fact of the matter, they are asking governments to jack up tariffs to protect them from competition. It makes you wonder why the consumer has to pay so much more to get the best tech.
Either they pay a 100% tariff or they settle for substandard product. Feels like a Loose/loose situation.

 

[earlyadopt]

No, they're not. There is no 3 row SUV EV going to be made. They moved it out, then to the end of the decade, now cancelled it.

T3 was early 2025 and is now late 2027.

There is zero positive in their actions.

Correct, Ford was going to build the vehicle at a plant in Oakville with the help of the Provincial government here. They dumped that idea and are now brining the Super duty 350 to the plant. My Ford dealership thought this was a good idea. Frankly I am not fully sure why. It almost feels like they put the vehicle into "R" for race and hit the gas! LOL
"We are all in on EV but we are building big gas guzzlers and by the way, stop China from coming in, we need another 2 decades to complete with them" The joys of free market

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