Ford scaling back its all-electric ambitions: commits to future gas and diesel vehicles

Ford has announced it scaling back its EV operations in the US, after it claimed that customers are becoming more price-conscious and range-anxious, so Ford has made some huge adjustments to its future EV roadmap.

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The company announced this week that it has adjusted its roadmap for its US vehicles, which will include a wider range of electrification options, and longer ranges. Ford is throwing away its next line of all-electric SUVs, they're gone now, replaced with hybrid models (that have shorter range, but longer overall range when combined with the gas engine).

This move will save the company at least $400 million reports CNN, because Ford will need to write down the manufacturing equipment that it had to install to build the EV SUVs... that it is no longer building. Ford said that the change in plans could cost the company upwards of $1.5 billion.

Ford will improve its battery sourcing and boost manufacturing efficiency to save on costs in the future, with 30% of the company's annual capital expenditures will be dedicated to pure electric vehicles in the future, down from 40% where it sits now.

Tesla has been destroying Ford in the EV market in the US (and across the planet) for years now, with the Ford F-150 Lightning still the best-selling electric truck in the United States. However, Ford says that vehicles with hybrid technology are becoming more and more popular in the United States, so it is deciding to pivot to meet customers' needs where they are today.

• Read more: Ford's new F-150 Lightning EV: can power your HOUSE for 3 entire days
• Read more: Ford F-150 Lightning EV: includes free adapter to recharge dead Tesla
• Read more: Ford's Extended Range F-150 Lightning: gigantic 131 kWh battery pack

Ford CEO Jim Farley said in a statement: "We learned a lot as the No. 2 U.S. electric vehicle brand about what customers want and value, and what it takes to match the best in the world with cost-efficient design, and we have built a plan that gives our customers maximum choice and plays to our strengths".

However, Ford will continue on its journey of making EVs, albeit at a slower pace. Ford's next EV will be an electric commercial van that is expected in 2026. After that, Ford will develop what it's calling a "groundbreaking" electric truck, codenamed "Project T3".

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Ford's mysterious Project T3 electric truck would introduce bi-directional charging -- so it can charge your home during a power outage -- and improved aerodynamics, with Project T3 expected in the second half of 2027. Ford wanted to have Project T3 on the road earlier than that, but the company wants to make improvements on battery manufacturing that will help reduce the cost of its new Project T3 electric truck when it arrives in 2027.

Ford's chief financial officer, John Lawler, told reports on a call that Ford would be "pivoting" away from its existing electric future and instead will push into its other platforms. Lawler said: "What we've learned is that customers want choice, and so we're providing that choice, with a full lineup of EVs, hybrids, electric, gas and diesel products".