Ford’s Ranger-sized electric ute locked in for 2027
Blue Oval sets a rough ETA for its shrunken Lightning but pulls the pin on a matching three-row SUVThe previously confirmed mid-sized Ford electric EV – widely anticipated to be a Ranger Lightning or close to – will surface in 2027, albeit without a related three-row SUV by its side.
Ford has radically rethought its future EV plans in the wake of cooling demand for zero-emission vehicles, so much so it’s axed plans for a BEV flagship SUV, ute and an entire family of vans.
The Blue Oval previously said the long-range three-row full-sized SUV had been pushed back from 2025 until 2027 but has now confirmed it’s culled the project entirely and will instead pivot towards developing hybrid powertrains.
“With pricing and margin compression, we’ve made the decision to adjust our product and technology roadmap,” Ford chief financial officer John Lawler said before revealing the brand’s EV investment would be cut from 40 per cent of total spending to around 30 per cent.
As well as developing hybrids, Ford CEO Jim Farley said the auto giant had set up a special team in California whose sole job was to develop a new affordable EV architecture that would spin off an all-new mid-sized electric pick-up in 2027.
Farley first hinted at a second electric pick-up beyond the F-150 Lightning back in April 2022 but didn’t go into too much detail other than the fact it would be produced at an all-new facility in Tennessee.
Despite its stateside production, it’s thought the new electric pick-up will be offered globally in a bid to capitalise on the huge investment in the new platform, a move that would add weight to the expectation of it wearing the Ranger Lightning nameplate.
Other cost-cutting measures include the delaying of the F-150 Lightning replacement from 2025 to 2027 and the relocation of the Mustang Mach-E’s battery production from South Korea to Michigan.
Ford says it expects to lose up to $US5.5 billion ($A8.2b) on its EV business this year alone.
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