Ford Motor Company, the second largest car maker in America recently announced it was making major changes in their production of electric vehicles, commonly referred to as EVs.
Ford has put a hold on plans they announced last year to spend $1.8 billion to transform an assembly plant in Canada into a hub for electric vehicle manufacturing.
Now their plan is to shift production at that plant to Ford’s gas-powered F-Series trucks which have been the best-selling truck lineup in America since 1977, and Ford’s best-selling vehicle overall since 1981.
In its coverage of Ford’s decision to pivot on EV’s, the New York Times noted,“The move is the latest example of how automakers are pulling back on aggressive investment plans in response to the slowing growth of electric vehicle sales.”
This decision by Ford comes with a measurable impact on their bottom line and on 2,700 auto worker jobs at their Canadian plant.
That plan alone will cost the company at least $400 million as they write down the costs for the manufacturing equipment they had put in place to build the EVs. Ford estimates the change in plans could ultimately cost them upwards of $1.5 billion.
Those costs pale in comparison to Ford losing $4.7 billion on EV sales last year, which is approximately $40,525 per electric vehicle sold.
Ford’s latest pullback from EVs is no surprise.
The economic reality is that Ford, other car makers and advocates for electric vehicles made unrealistic and unsustainable projections on consumer demand for EVs.
The two most likely factors for less-than-projected consumer demand are purchase price and reliability concerns.
The July 2024 edition of the Kelley Blue Book reports the average price for a new EV was $56,520, with some models costing more than $100,000.
Reliability is a concern due to a relatively limited number of EV charging stations.
Nationwide, there were 68,475 private and public charging stations at the beginning of this year, according to the U.S Department of Energy. While that’s more than twice the number in 2020, but it’s still just a third of the number of gas stations and well below projections.
A 2023 survey by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago reported that 77% of those polled voiced concerns about how they would charge an EV if they bought one.
This concern is not limited to potential EV buyers. Some current EV owners share it.
Earlier this year, the New York Times profiled a purchaser of a Ford F-150 Lightning EV. The purchaser said it was the “coolest vehicle he’d ever owned” and “it is unbelievably fast and responsive,” He also said, “the technology is amazing.” High praise indeed.
The problem for this otherwise enthusiastic EV owner was the EV’s range or, more importantly, lack of range.
When the weather grew colder, this owner found that the distance his vehicle could travel fell dramatically. His faith in the $79,000 truck diminished to a point where he found himself wondering if he should sell it.
“People say ‘range anxiety’ — it’s like it’s the driver’s fault,” he told the Times. “But it’s not our fault. It’s actually they’re not telling us what the real range is. The truck says it’s three hundred miles. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten that.”
Such observations are not a positive branding moment for electric vehicles or for Ford.
So, does all this news mean electric vehicles will never be more widely accepted?
In a word … no.
History is full of stories where the acceptance of new technologies grew slowly but steadily over time following initial acceptance by early adopters.
Early adopters are individuals who buy and try a new product or technology soon after it is available. Early adopters eagerly embrace change, are often (but not always) young, often (but not always) highly educated, and often (but not always) having robust disposable income.
While early adopters are among the first to purchase and use new products and services, they often become public opinion leaders over time.
Widespread public acceptance of their opinions can be accelerated when producers and marketers of a new technology listen to, accept suggestions from, and address legitimate concerns brought to their attention by early adopters.
Ford appears to be on track to do that. Their President and CEO recently said, “As the number 2 brand in the U.S. for the past two years, we are committed to scaling a profitable EV business, using capital wisely, and bringing to market the right gas, hybrid, and fully electric vehicles at the right time.
Ford currently anticipates the right time will not occur until 2027 when they plan to resume EV production at their Canadian Assembly plant.
For now, it is clear that electric vehicles are an idea whose time has not yet come.
David Reel is a public affairs and public relations consultant who lives in Easton.
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