Ford Thinks Large Electric SUVs, Trucks Have ‘In

Ford Thinks Large Electric SUVs, Trucks Have ‘Insurmountable’ Challenges

American automaker Ford Motor says developing large electric trucks and SUVs presents ‘insurmountable’ challenges, but it will push on with its electric vehicle plans. As SUVs and pickup trucks have become incredibly popular in the U.S. over the past couple of decades, the auto industry has trended toward developing increasingly larger cars.

The assumption was that as Americans love large cars, making them electric would be a surefire way to boost electric vehicle sales and remove emissions from the country’s transportation. However, Ford CEO Jim Farley says developing electric trucks and SUVs comes with unresolvable problems. The economics for electrifying large utility vehicles just doesn’t work, Farley noted during the automaker’s Q4 2024 earnings call.

He also outlined the drawbacks of electrifying large trucks and sports utility vehicles while he shared the firm’s electrification roadmap. According to Farley, Ford will focus most of its efforts on medium-sized and small electric vehicles rather than electrifying its entire vehicle line as they have higher economic viability.

The economics for larger electric vehicles are ‘unresolvable,’ Farley explained, as the type of driver who wants a large utility vehicle is more likely to use it for demanding tasks. Such vehicles are typically used to tow heavy objects, travel long distances, and go off-road. These activities have significant energy requirements, Farley says.

Furthermore, they tend to be quite heavy with poor aerodynamics, resulting in huge, expensive batteries that throw the economics of electrifying large vehicles out of whack. With an EV battery accounting for roughly 30% of its total cost, cars with larger batteries typically cost more. Battery costs go up as vehicle size and weight increase, making it incredibly difficult to electrify large vehicles without having to deal with significant costs.

A later statement from a Ford spokesperson clarified that CEO Jim Farley was talking about large electric cars like the Ford Expedition that focus on customer utility. Electric pick-up trucks and SUVs have attracted the attention of automakers looking to develop a best-selling EV in recent years, but the costs involved in developing such vehicles mean that most electric trucks on the market are quite expensive.

For instance, the Ford F-150 Lightning has been incredibly popular among consumers but Ford has reportedly lost tens of thousands of dollars for each sale. Despite these losses, Farley said Ford still intends to continue manufacturing electric vehicles. The Michigan-based carmaker has plans to develop a line of midsize electric trucks as a quasi successor to the F-150 Lightning.

This line of electric cars will be developed from the ground up on a Skunkworks platform. Ford will deploy a variety of electrified cars that include extended-range electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrids, Farley added.

It remains to be seen whether other EV makers like Mullen Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN) share the views expressed by Farley or they are finding ways to make large EVs a reality in the near future.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Mullen Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/MULN

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