Ford is delaying its next-gen electric three-row SUV and truck

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Ford is delaying the merchandise of its electric three-row SUV until 2027, the institution announced successful an update. It volition besides statesman enactment connected its next electrical truck successful 2026 and volition connection hybrid options for each exemplary it has successful production.

The unnamed SUV was expected to spell into accumulation starting successful 2025 astatine Ford’s works successful Oakville, Ontario, which is presently successful the midst of pivoting from gas-car accumulation to EVs. Ford gave respective reasons for the delay, including a tendency to hold until the three-row SUV marketplace matures earlier introducing its ain entrant.

“The further clip volition let for the user marketplace for three-row EVs to further make and alteration Ford to instrumentality vantage of emerging artillery technology, with the extremity to supply customers accrued durability and amended value,” the institution said.

While determination are implicit 100 electrical models disposable for merchantability successful the US, precise fewer of them are three-row SUVs, contempt their popularity with families. The Tesla Model X, Rivian R1S, and Kia EV9, arsenic good arsenic immoderate models of the Tesla Model Y, are immoderate of the fewer disposable to customers successful request of an other row.

Ford besides said it would hold enactment connected its next-generation electrical motortruck until 2026 astatine the still-under-construction BlueOval City Campus successful Tennessee. The motortruck was primitively expected to spell into accumulation starting successful 2025.

The BlueOval City Campus is coming into focus, including the installation of a overgarment store and “nearly 4,000 tons of stamping instrumentality that volition nutrient the expanse metallic stampings for Ford’s adjacent all-new electrical truck.” Ford is besides moving connected expanding its assembly works successful Avon Lake, Ohio, wherever it volition nutrient a next-generation electrical commercialized conveyance by mid-decade.

The electrical motortruck and SUV were intended to correspond Ford’s second-generation EVs, pursuing its first-gen Mustang Mach-E, F-150 Lightning, and E-Transit van. Ford CEO Jim Farley has said the second-gen EVs would beryllium profitable wrong the archetypal 12 months.

But portion its next-gen vehicles are delayed, its next-next-generation EVs are inactive underway. Ford said plan enactment connected its caller lineup of affordable EVs “continues” astatine the company’s skunkworks lab nether the supervision of ex-Tesla decorator Alan Clarke. The California-based squad is “developing a smaller, low-cost, profitable, flexible EV level susceptible of underpinning aggregate vehicles astatine precocious volumes,” Ford said.

Ford, similar different planetary automakers, is scrambling to cleanable the look for profitable electrical vehicles. The company’s Model e unit, which oversees EVs and bundle products, reported a nonaccomplishment of $1.6 cardinal successful the past 4th of 2023. Ford said it would dilatory the gait of wealth it was spending connected EVs successful bid to amended lucifer lawsuit demand.

Ford reported its first 4th income figures yesterday, successful which hybrids, successful particular, played a large role. The automaker sold 38,421 hybrid vehicles successful the archetypal 3 months of 2024, representing an summation of 42 percent compared to Q1 successful 2023. Its gas-guzzling SUVs (Escape, Explorer, Expedition, and Bronco) besides had a historical quarter, which the institution is calling its “all-time best” ever. And EV income were up 86 percent twelvemonth implicit year.