Ford Delays New Electric Truck, SUV to Go All-In on Hybrids
“I don’t have a lot of patience for us getting the forecast wrong, but the reality is, we all sort of got it wrong,” Ford Model e’s COO said.
Ford announced Thursday that the company will delay the release of two highly anticipated electric vehicles. The Blue Oval's next-generation electric pickup and its as yet unnamed three-row SUV, originally slated for 2025, are now expected to reach customers in 2026 and 2027, respectively. Ford also announced a new commitment to hybridizing its lineup, with hybrid options for each of its models by 2030.
Sources at Ford were quick to emphasize that the company was still committed to electrification. "Our breakthrough, next-generation EVs will be new from the ground up and fully software enabled," Ford CEO Jim Farley said, "with ever-improving digital experiences and a multitude of potential services." Despite the delay, Ford intends to continue EV-focused expansion at multiple major manufacturing facilities in Ontario, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ohio, working closely with labor organizations to keep the factories in step with the new timeline.
At the same time, sluggish EV sales and ongoing shortages of microchips and other vital components are complicating the lives of carmakers across the marketplace. Tesla had a major shortfall this quarter, selling just 386,810 cars of a projected 430,000. Other manufacturers have been making the same mistake, per Boston Consulting Group. EV sales are still high and growing—sales rose 50% in 2023—but several carmakers built their budgets expecting even faster growth. As Ford Model e COO Marin Gjuja told Detroit News, "I don't have a lot of patience for us getting the forecast wrong, but the reality is, we all sort of got it wrong."
Ford's pivot to hybrids fits with the new math. Per BCG, even in a forecasted post-2026 marketplace with EVs taking up a much larger share of the overall market, hybrids would still represent 15-20% of new cars sold.
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