By Nora Eckert
DETROIT (Reuters) – Ford Motor is shuffling its electric vehicle plans, killing its three-row SUV and delaying its next-generation pickup while adding a new pickup and van to its future lineup as it adjusts to slower-than-expected EV growth.
The automaker will take a special non-cash charge of about $400 million for the impairment of certain assets for the previously planned three-row SUVs, which could also result in additional expenses and cash outlays of up to $1.5 billion.
The decline in demand for electric cars has prompted automakers such as Ford, General Motors and others to delay or cancel plans to avoid spending heavily on vehicles that consumers are not buying as quickly as expected.
Ford CEO Jim Farley has praised the company’s team in California for developing an architecture for affordable electric cars. The first vehicle on the new technology will be a mid-size electric pickup truck released in 2027, the company said on Wednesday.
“The work of this very talented team has evolved into a critical enabler of our electric vehicle strategy. These electric vehicles will be cheaper and not compromised in any way,” Farley said in a statement.
Ford shares rose 1.4% in premarket trading.
The automaker will roll out an electric commercial van at its Ohio Assembly plant starting in 2026, hoping to capitalize on its success in gas-powered vehicles.
Meanwhile, the long-awaited successor to Ford’s F-150 Lightning electric truck has been delayed again, now to the second half of 2027 from an initially planned 2025 launch, a move the company said will allow it to take advantage of cheaper battery technology.
While Ford plans to produce an electric three-row SUV, it is moving to hybrid vehicles in that segment, aiming to woo customers with longer-range vehicles for road trips.
(Reporting by Nora Eckert, Editing by Louise Heavens and Bernadette Baum)