Latest news with #BlueOvalCity
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Ford delays launch of next-gen F-150 Lightning and E-Transit EV to 2028
Ford Motor Co. is extending its delay in launching two next-generation electric vehicles as the Michigan-based automaker continues its focus on smaller and more affordable models that deliver profits, the company said. Ford informed suppliers and employees in June that a full-size electric pickup, which is to be the successor to the F-150 Lightning, will be delayed to 2028, a company spokesman told the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, on Aug. 8. That's a delay of a few months longer than the initial delay set for late 2027. Prototypes for that vehicle will still launch in 2027. Ford plans to make that vehicle at its BlueOval City Assembly Plant in Tennessee. Additionally, Ford is delaying production of its E-transit van, to be built at its Ohio Assembly Plant in Avon Lake, Ohio, from 2026 to 2028. 'F-150 Lightning, America's best-selling electric truck, and E-Transit continue to meet today's customer needs," Ford spokesman Ian Thibodeau said in a statement. "We remain focused on delivering our Ford+ plan and will be nimble in adjusting our product launch timing to meet market needs and customer demand while targeting improved profitability.' This is not the first time Ford has shifted its EV strategy, and it won't be the last. Ford's EV lineup consists of the Mustang Mach-E, F-150 Lightning and E-Transit EV. CEO Jim Farley teased the announcement as being "a Model T moment" for the company, a reference to Ford's historic early car that helped build the 120-year company into a mass-market carmaker. Ford, which leads the industry in recalls, has yet to make money on its EV sales. In fact, Ford has projected it will lose up to $5.5 billion in its EV and software operations for 2025. In the second quarter, Ford reported its Model e electric vehicle unit lost $1.3 billion in the quarter, a wider loss than the $1.1 billion it lost in the year-ago period. Farley has said Ford needs to look at the Chinese car companies as its main competitors going forward in the EV space. As the Free Press reported in June, Farley and Ford's executive leadership team went to China earlier this year with an agenda: to study every aspect of how Chinese auto companies operate, then apply those lessons across Ford in its other markets. That's because Chinese automakers have been driving down costs on EV production, selling high-quality, well-designed EVs at affordable prices in Europe and Asia. Ford and other automakers are now focused on also producing lower-cost, smaller EV models using cheaper-to-make batteries that sit on a streamlined platform. Automotive News was first to report the extension of the delays. The Detroit Free Press first reported Ford's initial move to delay the EV launches in August 2024. Ford said at that time that it is changing its EV strategy, canceling plans for an all-electric three-row SUV and delaying the launch of a full-size EV pickup. At that time Ford said it was making those changes so that it could prioritize the introduction of a new, all-electric commercial van in 2026 (now delayed to 2028). Then, a more affordable midsize EV pickup and the full-size pickup would launch in 2027 — an initial delay of about 18 months from the original plans. Jamie L. LaReau is the senior autos writer who covers Ford Motor Co. for the Detroit Free Press. Contact Jamie at jlareau@ Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. To sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ford delays launch of 2 new EVs to 2028
Globe and Mail
11-08-2025
- Automotive
- Globe and Mail
Is Ford Trading EV Delays for Long-Term Gains in Affordable Models?
U.S. legacy automaker FordF is pushing back two major electric vehicle (EV) launches as it shifts focus to smaller, cheaper EVs that can turn a profit. The next-generation full-size electric pickup, known internally as 'Project T3' and set to replace the F-150 Lightning, will now debut in 2028. That's a few months later than the previous 2027 target — and far from its original plan to hit the market this year. The truck will be built at Ford's BlueOval City plant in Tennessee, with prototypes still expected in 2027. Ford's next-generation E-Transit electric van has also been delayed from 2026 to 2028. Planned for production at the Ohio Assembly Plant, the van was first announced in 2022 with a mid-decade launch in mind. These delays mark another adjustment to Ford's EV strategy. Instead of pushing out large, high-priced EVs, the automaker is investing in a new platform for compact, affordable electric vehicles. The platform is expected to underpin several models, including a small pickup truck due in 2027. More details on this are expected to be announced tomorrow. Ford's CEO Jim Farley has pointed to Chinese automakers as the company's main EV competitors, noting their ability to produce stylish, high-quality electric cars at inexpensive price points. To stay competitive, Ford is aiming to reduce costs with streamlined platforms and lower-cost batteries. Ford's current EV lineup — Mustang Mach-E, F-150 Lightning and E-Transit — remains in place, but the next-gen models will arrive later than planned. The bet now is that smaller, more affordable EVs will help the brand stay relevant and profitable in a competitive global market. Whether this pivot works will depend on how fast Ford can bring its affordable EVs to market — and how well they stack up against the offerings from China and other competitors. The delays in its flagship EV truck and van could concern some customers, but they also give Ford breathing room to focus on profitability and cost leadership. The Zacks Rundown on Ford Shares of Ford have increased around 15% over the past year, underperforming the industry as well as its closest peer General MotorsGM but outperforming the Italian American carmaker StellantisSTLA. While shares of General Motors have gained 24.6%, Stellantis stock has declined 38% over the same timeframe. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research From a valuation standpoint, F trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 0.28, below the industry average. It carries a Value Score of A. Meanwhile, General Motors and Stellantis trade at just 0.29X and 0.16X, respectively. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research See how the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ford's earnings has been revised over the past 60 days. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research F stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here See our %%CTA_TEXT%% report – free today! Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research
Yahoo
08-08-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Ford further pushes out production of 2 EVs to focus on affordability
Ford Motor Co. is extending its delay in launching two next-generation electric vehicles as the Dearborn-based automaker continues its focus on smaller and more affordable models that deliver profits, the company said. Ford informed suppliers and employees in June that a full-size electric pickup, which is to be the successor to the F-150 Lightning, will be delayed to 2028, a company spokesman told the Detroit Free Press on Aug. 8. That's a delay of a few months longer than the initial delay set for late 2027. Prototypes for that vehicle will still launch in 2027. Ford plans to make that vehicle at its BlueOval City Assembly Plant in Tennessee. Additionally, Ford is delaying production of its E-transit van, to be built at its Ohio Assembly Plant in Avon Lake, Ohio, from 2026 to 2028. 'F-150 Lightning, America's best-selling electric truck, and E-Transit continue to meet today's customer needs," Ford spokesman Ian Thibodeau said in a statement. "We remain focused on delivering our Ford+ plan and will be nimble in adjusting our product launch timing to meet market needs and customer demand while targeting improved profitability.' Switch Auto Insurance and Save Today! The Insurance Savings You Expect Great Rates and Award-Winning Service Affordable Auto Insurance, Customized for You This is not the first time Ford has shifted its EV strategy, and it won't be the last. Ford's EV lineup consists of the Mustang Mach-E, F-150 Lightning and E-Transit EV. The company is expected to make a big announcement on Aug. 11 at its plant in Louisville, Kentucky, outlining a future EV strategy. CEO Jim Farley has teased the announcement as being "a Model T moment" for the company, a reference to Ford's historic early car that helped build the 120-year company into a mass-market carmaker. Ford, which leads the industry in recalls, has yet to make money on its EV sales. In fact, Ford has projected it will lose up to $5.5 billion in its EV and software operations for 2025. In the second quarter, Ford reported its Model e electric vehicle unit lost $1.3 billion in the quarter, a wider loss than the $1.1 billion it lost in the year-ago period. Farley has said Ford needs to look at the Chinese car companies as its main competitors going forward in the EV space. As the Free Press reported in June, Farley and Ford's executive leadership team went to China earlier this year with an agenda: to study every aspect of how Chinese auto companies operate, then apply those lessons across Ford in its other markets. That's because Chinese automakers have been driving down costs on EV production, selling high-quality, well-designed EVs at affordable prices in Europe and Asia. Ford and other automakers are now focused on also producing lower-cost, smaller EV models using cheaper-to-make batteries that sit on a streamlined platform. More: Ford will have 'Model-T moment' on Aug. 11, CEO Jim Farley says More: Ford has spent 18 months trying to fix quality problem that's costing company billions Automotive News was first to report the extension of the delays. The Detroit Free Press first reported Ford's initial move to delay the EV launches in August 2024. Ford said at that time that it is changing its EV strategy, canceling plans for an all-electric three-row SUV and delaying the launch of a full-size EV pickup. At that time Ford said it was making those changes so that it could prioritize the introduction of a new, all-electric commercial van in 2026 (now delayed to 2028). Then, a more affordable mid-sized EV pickup and the full-size pickup would launch in 2027 — an initial delay of about 18 months from the original plans. Jamie L. LaReau is the senior autos writer who covers Ford Motor Co. for the Detroit Free Press. Contact Jamie at jlareau@ Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. To sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ford further pushes out production of 2 EVs Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
07-08-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Ford delays electric pickup, van to 2028 in shift to more affordable EVs
Ford Motor Co. is again delaying two of its next-generation electric vehicles as it switches its focus to smaller, more affordable offerings. The automaker in recent months told suppliers that a full-size electric pickup set for its BlueOval City assembly plant in Tennessee has been delayed to 2028 from 2027, according to three people familiar with the plans. Separately, an electric van — expected to be a next-generation E-Transit — slated for 2026 production in Avon Lake, Ohio, also is delayed until 2028, the sources said. Switch Auto Insurance and Save Today! Great Rates and Award-Winning Service The Insurance Savings You Expect Affordable Auto Insurance, Customized for You Both vehicles already have been pushed back before. The van, first announced in 2022, originally was expected 'mid-decade,' while the pickup, known internally as 'T3,' initially had been promised by this year. Ford confirmed the delays Aug. 7 in response to a request for comment from Automotive News, saying it informed suppliers and employees of the new timetables in June. 'F-150 Lightning, America's best-selling electric truck, and E-Transit continue to meet today's customer needs,' a Ford spokesperson said in a statement. 'We remain focused on delivering our Ford+ plan and will be nimble in adjusting our product launch timing to meet market needs and customer demand while targeting improved profitability.' Future Product Ford future product Find our what powertrains, redesigns and freshenings are planned for the next four years. View the list Brand future product timelines The delays come as Ford pivots its focus to a low-cost EV platform designed to underpin a handful of smaller models, starting with a small pickup in 2027. The automaker is expected to share details on those plans Aug. 11 at its Louisville Assembly Plant in Kentucky. 'The pure EV market in the U.S. seems to us very clear: small vehicles used for commuting and around town, so to speak,' CEO Jim Farley said on Ford's second-quarter earnings call. 'And commercial … we think that's going to be a robust business, but we want to shrink the number of top hats. We're going to have just a few. And we've made the adjustments in timing, we think, and to be in segments where we can actually make money on EVs.' Ford last year canceled a pair of three-row electric crossovers it planned to build in Oakville, Ontario. Instead, Ford is transforming the Canadian plant to make Super Duty pickups. 'We are moving from being the dominant player in truck hybrids in the U.S. to offering EREVs, PHEVs, and a full range of hybrids across our lineup, especially our bigger vehicles,' Farley said on the second-quarter earnings call. 'We think that's a much better move than a $60,000 to $70,000 all electric crossover. We think that that's really what customers are going to want long term.' Sign up for the quarterly Automotive News U.S. Sales report to get data and news sent to your inbox as soon as it's compiled. The T3 pickup, a full-size model expected to eventually replace the F-150 Lightning in Ford's lineup, is to be the centerpiece of a $5.6 billion investment that Farley has described as a 'seminal moment' for the automaker. The BlueOval City assembly plant near Memphis will have the capacity to churn out 500,000 trucks a year, Ford has said. A year ago, Ford said it was postponing the start of production to late 2027 so it could 'utilize lower-cost battery technology and take advantage of other cost breakthroughs while the market continues to develop.' Farley has said the pickup will be a 'marvel of simplification' which will be offered in significantly fewer configurations than current models. The Ford spokesperson on Aug. 7 confirmed that, although production has been delayed, BlueOval City still is expected to start making prototypes in 2027. A battery plant on the site originally was expected to begin production in 2025, although a spokesperson for the project in June told Automotive News that the timetable had been delayed. 'Market demand and customer orders will determine when we start making batteries at the BlueOval SK battery plant at BlueOval City,' the spokesperson said. The automaker also plans two battery plants with SK Innovation in Kentucky. One is scheduled to open this year, while the other has been delayed indefinitely. Send us a letter to the editor Have an opinion about this story? Tell us about it and we may publish it in print. Click here to submit a letter to the editor.
Fast Company
10-06-2025
- Automotive
- Fast Company
Ford is opening a new community center in rural Tennessee. It's changing how corporations give back
In a sprawling, 6-square-mile plot of land in rural West Tennessee, the Ford Motor Co. is building a massive new electric vehicle assembly plant it's calling BlueOval City. Estimated to cost more than $5.6 billion and create more than 6,000 jobs, the industrial park is envisioned as the world's most modern automotive manufacturing facility since Ford pioneered the assembly line. It will also remake this part of Tennessee, which has seen little, if any, economic development in decades. But despite this scale and ambition, the most impactful part of the project may be tucked inside a 3,600-square-foot dilapidated schoolhouse. The schoolhouse is being transformed into the new Ford Community Center for the city of Stanton, population 415, which sits closest to the edge of BlueOval City. Located 50 miles outside of Memphis, Stanton is a predominantly Black community built on former plantation land. Once the heart of the community, the schoolhouse was decommissioned after desegregation. Now through an unusually community-centric process, the building is being converted into a resource center that provides residents with job training, financial literacy, healthcare access, legal services, and more. 'It's a front door for helping people who wish to participate in the rising tide of BlueOval City,' says Josh McManus. His consultancy, M|B|P, spearheaded this community-focused approach, which involved more than 2,500 hours of community meetings and input sessions to understand what was needed before any investment was made. 'What you find very fast is there are a lot of lifelong residents in the area who, because there's been next to no economic activity there for a long time, are in need of hard skills and soft skills,' McManus says. advertisement The final deadline for Fast Company's Next Big Things in Tech Awards is Friday, June 20, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply today.
