In an endeavor to free up resources and industrial capacities for electric vehicle production, Ford will be taking the axe to its Escape and Edge SUVs, as well as the Transit Connect minivan, Automotive News is reporting.
The company’s Model e division, which is responsible for EV R&D, has been losing money rapidly these past months. Back in March, Ford believed its projected annual losses in 2023 would sum up to $3 billion; the company has now re-run the calculations and added another $4.5 billion to that number.
To make matters worse, Ford no longer hopes to hit the production target of 400,000 EVs in 2024, saying it would have to remain a goal for another year.
Despite all the ill omens, the U.S. automobile giant believes that electric transports will eventually become profitable. The company expects around 8% profitability in 2026 owing to a gradual reduction in manufacturing and end-consumer costs. A new pickup trick and a large SUV running on battery power are currently in development, among other models.
According to Automotive News, Ford plans to discontinue the Edge in order to free up the production capacities at the Oakville Assembly Plant in Canada. The Transit Connect will be removed from production to make room for a new, more technically advanced, all-electric van. As for the Kuga/Escape, it will simply drop out of production with no successor planned.