- The Ford F-150 Lightning is canceled, as is its fully electric replacement, codenamed “T3.”
- Meanwhile, China’s EV and PHEV options keep making inroads in cheap segments across the globe.
- Ford’s Universal EV Platform is still on track to launch in 2027.
The F-150 Lightning will gain a gas engine. An American-made commercial electric van has been canceled to make a gas and hybrid one. The supposedly revolutionary EV follow-up to the Lightning, codenamed T3, is now canceled. Battery plants are being repurposed into AI data centers, while the names of once EV-forward plants lose the monikers that implied they would build our electric future. And in Europe, Ford’s hopes for an electric small-car future apparently rest on Renault now.
I’m gonna be frank here: this feels like bad news for the future of American manufacturing and the competitiveness of our EV market. Especially since it comes from Ford Motor Company, whose leadership has spent years sounding the alarm about China’s EV sector on podcasts, panels and in splashy New York Times features.
At some point, Ford has to deliver on all the stuff it’s been saying. But when push comes to shove lately, it’s back to gas.
Photo by: Ford
True, Ford’s Model E electric vehicle program has been a huge money loser. That’s in part because of how these EVs were made. Ford claims a whopping $19 billion in losses just to retrench from its former EV plans. The Lightning may be a top-selling EV pickup truck, but sales have been significantly lower than projected, while the truck itself never really got down to the original $40,000 base price promised when it was announced. Even at the higher base prices the F-150 Lightning sold for, the truck still hemorrhaged money for the brand.
Still, this announcement feels like deja vu. The last time I’ve heard what felt like a short-sighted decision from Ford was when it decided to cancel all of its sedan and hatchback models. This move was once called shrewd, since the automaker pivoted to crossovers, trucks and SUVs, but now I bet the company regrets the huge markets it has left to competitors. If you look at the sales charts, Ford’s former small and mid-sized sedan, hatchback, and even small crossover options are being eaten up by Korean and Japanese competitors. Check the sales charts outside of the U.S., and you cheap EVs and hybrids from China are increasingly making inroads into Ford’s former territory.
BYD Dolphin Surf (Europe Spec)
Photo by: BYD
Maybe this latest pivot helps Ford shore up its finances after a rough year of tariffs, recalls and EV losses. But it feels like the kind of move that leads to a hangover later on.
We know what’s at stake with jobs, manufacturing and technology in the auto industry, especially since Ford CEO Jim Farley is constantly on the news talking about it. He’s been very candid about how spooked he was by what he’s seen in China. But if America is really trying to outfox China, it feels like China has already won.
Here Ford is, backing out of more competition. Extended-range EVs, or EREVs, seem poised to have a moment, but they’re deeply unproven in the U.S. market; none are even on sale here yet. Ford also killed its plans for a three-row electric crossover. Ford says it’s learned what its EVs can and can’t do the hard way, and that customers want range, towing and affordability—something big-battery trucks can’t really do. Point taken. But instead of innovating like other automakers, Ford has been in retreat mode for at least two years.
Instead, its plans for an electric future are all reliant on its new EV architecture, the Ford Universal EV Platform. On paper, it sounds great: lots of new EVs, starting with a truck set to cost around $30,000. But we have yet to see anything tangible about it. Until we see something at dealerships, it might as well be vaporware. And given these announcements of cancellations and “product pivots” its future feels ominous, will Ford’s revolutionary EV platform even happen?
The gap between Ford’s words and its product plans has to be addressed. Farley himself is an avowed fan of the Xiaomi SU7. Yet Xiaomi’s success is just one example of China’s EV products that dominate and impress the market. And China Inc. can easily go backward and add internal combustion and hybrid offerings to its already strong lineup of EVs.
We’re already seeing this in and outside of China, with brands like Zeekr, Xpeng and BYD hybridizing their affordable electric car shapes for people who aren’t read to go fully electric. Just recently, BYD released a PHEV version of its Atto 2 crossover just for Europe. It has a new hybrid estate wagon coming soon there, too. I’m not convinced this process works as well the other way around, especially not for Ford. By comparison, crosstown rival General Motors has actually put its money where its mouth is by getting its EV lineup on the road, and increasingly profitably, with tangible plans to get drivers into more affordable vehicles.
BYD Atto 2 DM-i
Photo by: BYD
It’s no secret that EV demand is a lot softer than expected by some brands, including Ford. Yet, softer demand doesn’t mean no demand—and pivoting back toward gas feels puzzling, disappointing and maybe even a sign of political acquiescence in a country that is actively antagonistic toward any sort of scientific progress. When the President of the United States and the head of the Department of Transportation talk about how EVs are a “scam,” an announcement of this caliber feels a lot more than curious. And now it’s worth asking how long the Mustang Mach-E will stick around, too. Considering it’s been a relatively slow seller globally and Ford would rather farm its car and crossover-shaped EVs to Renault and Volkswagen, I can’t put it past them.
I hope for Ford’s sake that its future small EV platform is as good as Farley says, because Ford seems to be betting the farm on this thing. We won’t even know for another two years. But at this point, nobody should be shocked if Ford follows “customer choice” and rips out that battery for a Power Stroke diesel.
Contact the author: kevin.williams@insideevs.com
Related Articles We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Insideevs.com?
– The InsideEVs team