A few days agoAnnounceAfter postponing the original annual production target for electric vehicles, making it uncertain to achieve the goal of 2024 million annual production in 200, Ford has decided to accelerate its transformation to the electric vehicle market.Termination of productionThe three fuel-powered models, Escape, Edge and Transit Connect, which have been promoted for many years, will be used to allocate more funds to the development of electric vehicle products.
This decision was made in response to Ford's current Model e division, which is investing in the development of electric vehicle products, suffering losses of $45 billion. In addition, the company will produce all-electric SUVs at its plant in Oakville, Ontario, Canada, which has led to the decision to discontinue the Edge SUV model. Sales of the Transit Connect will be discontinued in the US market first, while sales of this model will continue in the European market. As for the Escape model, although production will be discontinued, the specific time point has not yet been determined.
Ford CEO Mark Fields said that Ford currently has huge vehicle production capacity and plans to launch more new products, but the inventory of electric vehicles is still significantly higher than that of traditional fuel vehicles, indicating that actual market demand cannot keep up with production. This is also related to the fact that the market's trust in electric vehicles is still not high. Reasons include that the overall price is still relatively high and charging stations are still not popular.
However, Ford stressed that it is still confident in the future development of electric vehicles and believes that it is currently in a transitional stage of transformation. This transition period may take longer to change, but it believes that the market will gradually shift towards the trend of electric vehicles.
Ford has already increased its production capacity at its plants to invest in the electric vehicle market, including establishing an electric vehicle and battery production line in Tennessee, USA. The F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E, currently on the market, are gaining traction. However, factors currently hindering Ford's electric vehicle strategy include higher vehicle prices compared to traditional fuel vehicles, the continued anxiety of many users about charging, and the current market impacted by exchange rates and inflation, which pose challenges for many automakers transitioning to electric vehicles.
