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Ford (F) Defers Launch of Three-Row Electric SUV Until 2027

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Ford Motor Company (F - Free Report) is postponing the launch of its three-row electric SUV until 2027. The automaker will start working on its next-generation electric truck in 2026 and offer hybrid options for its entire internal combustion engine lineup in North America by 2030.

The three-row electric SUV was scheduled to go into production in 2025 at Ford’s Ontario plant, which is currently undergoing a transition from traditional gas-powered vehicle manufacturing to EVs.

Before introducing its own entrant, F plans to wait until the market for three-row SUVs matures. The developed market will enable Ford to take advantage of new battery technology, which will help the automaker provide improved durability and value to its customers.

Although there are more than 100 EV models available for sale in the United States at present, three-row SUV models make a very small part of it. The three-row SUV models that are available for sale in the U.S. market are Tesla, Inc.’s (TSLA - Free Report) Model X, Kia EV9, Rivian R1S and a few models of the Tesla Model Y.

Ford has also postponed the work on its next-generation electric truck until 2026 at the under-construction BlueOval City Campus in Tennessee. The truck was scheduled to go into production in 2025.

The BlueOval City Campus will have a paint shop and around 4,000 tons of stamping equipment that will produce the sheet metal stampings for Ford’s next-generation electric truck. The automaker is actively expanding its Avon Lake assembly plant with the aim of producing a next-generation electric commercial vehicle by the middle of the decade.

The next-generation electric truck and SUV were supposed to be F’s second-generation EVs. Jim Farley, CEO of Ford, has expressed confidence that these second-generation EVs would achieve profitability within the initial 12 months of their launch.

While the work on second-generation EVs has been put on hold, the design work on the automaker’s new lineup of affordable EVs is underway at its skunkworks lab under the supervision of Alan Clarke. Ford’s California-based team is working on the development of a smaller, cost-effective, profitable and versatile EV platform. This platform is designed to support multiple vehicle models at significant production volumes.

Although the company’s year-over-year U.S. sales for electric and hybrid vehicles rose 86% and 42%, respectively, in the first quarter of 2024, it expects a total loss of at least $5 billion on its Model e division in 2024.

The auto industry is experiencing slower-than-expected demand for EVs. In light of ongoing demand challenges, many automakers have slashed their EV production target for 2024. Tesla, the EV pioneer, reported a year-over-year decline of 8.5% in global sales in the first quarter of 2024. General Motors’ first-quarter 2024 EV sales also fell to 16,500 units from 20,000 units reported in the year-ago period.

Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks

F currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Some other top-ranked players in the auto space are Toyota Motor Corporation (TM - Free Report) and Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. (ALSN - Free Report) , each flaunting a Zacks Rank #1 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for TM’s 2024 sales and earnings per share (EPS) suggests year-over-year growth of 10% and 73.6%, respectively. The EPS estimates for 2024 and 2025 have improved 31 cents and 86 cents, respectively, in the past 30 days.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ALSN’s 2024 sales and earnings suggests year-over-year growth of 2.1% and 3.2%, respectively. The EPS estimates for 2024 and 2025 have improved 67 cents and 71 cents, respectively, in the past 30 days.

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