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Ford Escape Might Serve As Template For Upcoming Low Cost EV

With demand for all-electric vehicles falling off toward the latter part of 2023, automakers have begun scaling back planned investments in that segment – including Ford. The Blue Oval is also shifting gears somewhat in terms of its future EV plans, working to develop a lower-cost model and platform and even contemplating delaying the launch of certain EVs, too. We also recently saw a potential shift in strategy when Blue Oval CEO Jim Farley praised the Ford Escape – a model that he previously hinted was facing discontinuation – and one that has long been rumored to be in line to be replaced by an EV. While speaking at the recent 2024 Wolfe Conference, Farley also hinted that the Ford Escape may wind up serving as the template for a cheap EV model, too.

“In Ford’s case, we have decided pretty quickly to bet on smaller EV platforms because when you do the economics, including IRA, especially with IRA, the profitability, what the customer has now said to us is if you have anything larger than Escape, it better be really functional or a work vehicle as an EV,” Farley said.

“Now, it turns out, which has not been reported, and I’m a bit disappointed, maybe it’s part of our fault is, the EV adoption on Pro is actually going much better than we thought. It’s not a huge market, but they use the vehicles more intensely, so the operating cost advantages on the energy side are much better, much better than they thought. So we can’t make enough E-Transits or Pro versions of Lightning, but the base cost of Lightning is too expensive.”

2023 Ford Escape

“So the bigger vehicles, they better be work. But if you do the economics and all that battery capacity for a vehicle that’s, let’s say, the Escape or smaller, it’s totally different. It completely works. In fact, it’s dramatically better operating cost than a Corolla or a Civic or even a Maverick. And that is what’s really exciting for us. And that’s a pivot that isn’t entirely obvious that Ford has made, but we have made it.”

This type of strategy makes sense, as one of the biggest obstacles standing in the way of more widespread EV adoption has long been the disproportionate price gap between those models compared to traditional ICE vehicles. It’s also worth noting that the Ford Mustang Mach-E – a larger and pricier all-electric crossover – has faced a sharp decrease in demand as of late, which could also somewhat prove Farley’s point here.

We’ll have more on the future of the Escape soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for more Ford Escape news and non-stop Ford news coverage.

Brett's lost track of all the Fords he's owned over the years and how much he's spent modifying them, but his current money pits include an S550 Mustang and 13th gen F-150.

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Comments

  1. Headline and article misleads, Farley does not reference the Escape at all.

    Reply
  2. Yes, he did. Read it again.

    Reply

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