While many other automakers were scaling back planned investments into electrification and even delaying the launch of new all-electric models, Volkswagen chose to remain pat for a rather long period of time, even doubling down on its EV ambitions as recently as February. However, after the Ford partner and German automaker reversed course and admitted that it will pivot to hybrids in the short term, it ultimately opted to postpone the launch of its ID.7 EV sedan in North America last week. Now, another automaker – Nissan – is somewhat following suit, it seems.
In fact, Nissan has paused the development of two planned all-electric sedans, though it still plans on expanding its overall EV lineup to five vehicles in the U.S., regardless. “We are adjusting the timeline for the introduction of these five new models to ensure we bring the vehicles to the market at the right time,” a Nissan spokesperson told Reuters. The Japanese automaker hasn’t scrapped its EV sedans completely, but rather, will instead look to prioritize all-electric crossovers/SUVs in a region that has shown a preference for that type of vehicle in recent years.
Meanwhile, Ford has altered its own EV strategy in a big way as of late, pushing back the planned production start dates for the next-generation Ford F-150 EV and Ford Explorer EV while shifting its focus to smaller, cheaper models. According to the automaker, aside from weakened consumer demand, much of this decision stems from current battery costs, too.
In the meantime, Ford is developing a low-cost EV platform that will underpin a crossover set to debut in 2026 with a $25k price tag, which was inspired by a recent visit to China by CEO Jim Farley and CFO John Lawler.
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