Ford to delay production of new electric pickup and large SUV as US EV sales growth slows

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Ford to delay production of new electric pickup and large SUV as US EV sales growth slows

Associated Press Finance
Thu, Apr 4, 2024, 8:53 AM EDT • 1 min read

DETROIT (AP) — With U.S. electric vehicle sales starting to slow, Ford Motor Co. says it will delay rolling out new electric pickup trucks and a new large electric SUV as it adds gas-electric hybrids to its model lineup. ... The Dearborn, Michigan, company said Thursday that a much ballyhooed new electric pickup to be built at a new factory in Tennessee will be delayed by a year until 2026.

The big electric SUV, with three rows of seats, will be delayed by two years until 2027 at the company's factory in Oakville, Ontario near Toronto.

The retreat comes as U.S. electric vehicle sales growth slowed to 2.7% in the first quarter of the year, far below the 47% increase that fueled record sales and a 7.6% market share last year. Sales of new vehicles overall grew nearly 5%, and the EV market share declined to 7.1%.

Hybrid sales, however, grew 45% from January through March, while plug-in hybrids, which can go a short distance on battery power before a gas-electric system kicks in, grew 34% according to Motorintelligence.com.

{snip}

[Ontheboundry]

1. At the end of the day

I'd rather we focus on hybrids right now. The country as a whole does not have the infrastructure in place for this hard EV push, and I saw a Japanese study that said hybrids.had a far better carbon footprint than ev or combustion.

Think the country as a whole could transition towards the ev destination without so much pushback

[Think. Again.]

2. Ford U.S. EV Sales Almost Doubled In Q1 2024 To Over 20,000

Source: https://insideevs.com/news/714823/ford-us-ev-sales-2024-q1/

March brought the second-highest EV sales number ever, as all models contributed to strong growth.

Ford Motor Company reported 181,274 new vehicle sales in March (up 5.4% year-over-year) and 508,083 in the first quarter (up 6.8%). This overall growth was accompanied by a surge in all-electric vehicle sales.

Ford sold 9,181 EVs last month, up 338% over March 2023 (from a low base of 2,096). It's the second-highest monthly result ever recorded. The EV share out of the brand's total volume improved to 5.3%, compared to 1.3% a year ago.
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Ford is America’s No. 2 EV brand in Q1 2024

Ford was the No.2 brand in the EV segment after Tesla in 2023 with over 72,000 sales. The company remained the second best-selling brand in Q1 2024, with over 20,000 units.

Once again, all three Ford EV models contributed to the growth. The company sold 5,364 Mustang Mach-Es (up 437% year-over-year), 2,907 F-150 Lightning (up 321% year-over-year), and 910 E-Transit (up 124% year-over-year.) Especially positive is the boost of the Mach-E sales after two weaker months.

Ford BEV sales last month (YOY change):

Ford Mustang Mach-E: 5,364 (up 437%)
Ford F-150 Lightning: 2,907 (up 321%)
Ford E-Transit: 910 (up 124%)
Total: 9,181 (up 338%) and 5.3% share

-snip-

[OnlinePoker]

3. For all of 2023, Ford's electric division only sold 20,000 more vehicles than 2022

For the full year, they sold 116,000 units and lost $4.7 Billion in that division, or ~$40,500 per unit. Out of all vehicles sold by Ford last year, only 2.5% were electric (I don't know if hybrids are included there or just all-electrics). The Q1 2024 report isn't available on the Ford site yet, just the info you posted, so I'll be curious to see if the EV losses per unit have continued. I know Tesla was in a similar situation for years before they posted a profit so it might not matter in the end, but the original Big 3 automaker shareholders are a lot less forgiving than the Tesla fanboys were.

[Think. Again.]

4. Those are not losses...

...that number is the long-term investment made by Ford in starting up their EV division from scratch.