Ford has pulled the plug on its plan to produce a three-row all-electric SUV. Instead the company says it will focus on developing hybrid variants in the large SUV segments, even as it remains committed to electrification of its pickup lineup.
We’d already seen Ford push back the launch schedule for the planned three-row utility EV from its original 2025 timeline to 2027. The brain-trust at the Blue Oval brand has evidently decided it wise not to go there at all, in the current market context.
That context is of course the rapid growth in demand for hybrid and plug-in hybrid models, matched by a flattening of growth in the all-electric segments.
Ford actually gives a more narrow-focused explanation for its decision to kibosh its planned rival to the likes of the Kia EV9. The automaker says battery materials sourcing costs played heavily into the decision, alongside a recognition that consumers are now asking more for affordable EVs than they are for big and powerful electric SUVs. Said the company in a statement:
“Today’s electric vehicle consumers are more cost-conscious than early adopters, looking to electric vehicles as a practical way to save money on fuel and maintenance, as well as time by charging at home.”
- Ford statement
The company added it doesn’t believe it can currently produce a three-row EV priced to make it accessible to consumers, and make it profitable within a year (a condition Ford has set for itself when it comes to EVs).
Ford will continue to press on with EV development on other fronts, namely with the introduction of an all-electric commercial van in 2026, followed by two new electric pickup models in 2027. Overall, the automaker says it’s cutting spending on EVs by 10 percent.
Original content from auto123.
