Ford announced yesterday that the brand is reviewing its strategy for the coming years. The idea was to release a completely new electric SUV with three rows of seats and a new electric pickup next year. These deadlines have now been extended to 2027. The reason is that the demand for EVs appears to be disappointing and it is particularly difficult to make a profit on plug-in cars.
Marin Gjaja, the executive manager of Ford's EV business, speaks with Detroit News. He explains that the years of the chip shortage painted a wrong picture of the popularity of EVs. People took what they could get and if it happened to be an electric car, they took it. Buyers weren't necessarily crazy about EVs, there was just little alternative.
Fewer chip shortages, more petrol cars
And the predictions are based on sales in the years when there were too few petrol cars. Now that the world is slowly returning to the old normal, more people are apparently opting for a petrol car again. By the way, it's not as dramatic as it sounds: instead of 70 percent more EVs, car brands sold 50 percent more EVs in the US in 2023.
He gives in Detroit News that patience runs out from making these kinds of mistakes, but he also says that the entire auto industry was a little wrong: “The reality is that we were all a little wrong.” The fact that Ford's competitors have not yet achieved it eases the pain.
Difficult to get prices down
It is also very difficult to reduce the prices of EVs without taking too much away from profits. “Overall, EV pricing is very, very challenging,” the Ford employee said. The Ford CEO says they need to become more efficient at building EVs so they can compete with Tesla and other automakers abroad.
Car brands are wrong
Sales expectations for many car brands were not met in the first quarter, according to the Boston Consulting Group. For example, Tesla expected to sell 430,000 cars in the first quarter. There were less than 390,000. So even Tesla that drastically reduces prices does not achieve its stated goals. And that is reflected in the share price.
Hybrids will remain important in the near future
What is going in the right direction are the sales of hybrids. These cars with a combustion engine and an electric motor still play an important role. Buyers love it and apparently car brands can make a lot of money from this. BCG thinks that manufacturers would be wise to invest at least as much money in hybrids as in fully electric cars over the next five years.
Ford has announced that a hybrid version of every model will be available by 2030. This does not mean that Ford is stopping the EV transition. The brand is still on its way to a fully electric range, but just wants to reach this moment a little later. Ford CEO Jim Farley says the company is committed to building “a profitable EV business.” According to him, the right time is needed for the right petrol, hybrid and electric cars.
![Ford 24-7 Wagon concept diagonally at the front](https://media.1815.io/topgear/i/full/2022/02/ford-24-7-wagon-concept-statisch-3-4-voor.jpg)
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