For quite some time, The Blue Oval planned on replacing Ford Edge production at the Oakville Assembly plant in Canada with a pair of new, all-electric, three-row crossovers, but as demand for all-electric vehicles softened, it canceled those plans this past August. Instead, the automaker will expand production of the Ford Super Duty to Oakville amid high demand for that profitable model, starting in 2026. Now, a new study provides us with another reason why Ford may have chosen to cancel its three-row EV crossovers, too.
That study comes to us from AutoPacific, which recently took a look at the three-row EV SUV market, specifically. That data comes from the organization’s 2024 Future Vehicle Planner, which surveyed over 14,000 consumers who intend to purchase a new vehicle within the next three years. It revealed that nearly half of all future three-row SUV/crossover shoppers would consider purchasing an electric version of that type of vehicle, while another eight percent said that they actually intend to do so.
On one hand, the former number seems encouraging, but the latter, well, that’s a fairly small percentage of consumers, given the massive investments automakers have made in electrification as of late. There are currently seven all-electric three-row crossovers on sale in the U.S. – the Volvo EX90, VinFast VF9, Tesla Model X, Rivian R1S, Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV and EQB SUV, and the Kia EV9 – which will soon be joined by by the Cadillac Escalade IQ. A total of 59 percent of those polled don’t want to spend more than $50,000 for that kind of vehicle, however, and the Kia EV9 and Mercedes-Benz EQB are the cheapest of this bunch with starting MSRPs starting in the $55,000 range.
As Ford Authority previously reported, Kia is throwing a tremendous number of incentives at its EV9 in an effort to drum up sales, which is likely eating into any potential profits that model may otherwise generate – and Toyota also recently delayed its plans to build its own three-row EV crossover, too. All of this helps explain why Ford decided to pivot away from its original plan, and now, will launch a pair of hybrid three-row crossovers in place of the EVs.
Comments
That’s silly for Ford to think that over half of people considering buying a 3-row EV SUV isn’t enough to put one into production, after they worked on it and was ready to release it.
Consumers can’t even consider it or even buy one (I was ready to buy one when I heard they had one in development), but I can’t even do that now, so I have to purchase from a competitor.
Ford makes Trucks and SUVs, so for them to not continue to release new products in the line of vehicles they make is crazy!
Yes there is a lot of competition, but this will force them to make a great product at a price that people want to pay. Instead of thinking of vehicles that are overpriced, so Farley can make a ton of money.
Look at the Kia EV9, a reasonably prices EV 3-row SUV and it’s selling a lot of units. If Ford made an Explorer sized EV first, it would have sold like crazy. Then expand to the Expedition like the Escalade IQ, it will sell. I already have a few friends that have their Escalade IQs on order and will be taking delivery of them soon. Yeah, it’s a lot of money, but the first of its kind and there is a market for it and then develop more and more of them. Economics of scale starts slow and then build on the momentum.
The Lightining is a great truck, but still overpriced for what it can do. It doesn’t even do 350 miles and the fact that they offer a “standard” battery is crazy. Just put the extended battery into all the trucks and call it a day. People have range anxiety and if it goes 300 miles plus, they are more open to looking at it. Ford also needs to offer a few more incentives to move the units like all the other OEMs, but Ford and Farley are too greedy and want every dollar they think they can get from each unit. They are sitting on the lots and not moving. Better to sell them at some price and move on.
But what do consumers and other business minded people know?
Well, I took delivery last week of my f-150 lightning lariat trim with $21,000 off the sticker price along with 0% interest for 72 months. Pretty good deal if I say so myself.
50% of those polled saying that they would “consider” a three-row EV is a long way from that many actually purchasing one. Surveys like this have to be careful with wording and interpreting because people know what the “right” answer is. Of course I would consider an EV is the “right” answer whether true or not.
Ditto for 100K electric pick up trucks. Regular people cannot afford them. The 5% of the market that can afford them already bought them. The entire assembly line is not sustainable. Make a 30K electric truck based on the Maverick with no frills and a 300 mile range and they will sell.
EV’s, lmao. PEOPLE DON’T WANT THEM, the infrastructure isn’t ready for them. They have terrible reliability issues. EV’s and Farley have destroyed Ford. A lifelong Ford owner that is watching what was once “the best never rest” is now cut every corner and wish for the best to support the catastrophic losses of electric vehicles. Even the F-150 is turning into a joke with quality. It makes me sick to my stomach seeing Ford sliding into a cesspool. Electric my a$$.
It seems Ford is floundering a bit with EVs right now but I think canceling the current 3-row SUV was the right thing for them. Ford quickly pushed out a few EVs such as the Lightning while it designed and deployed a new platform. They hoped to get ahead of GM, which initially took a more long range approach. The importance of Ford’s California skunkworks cannot be underestimated. I’ve read that the first product out of this program, a mid size truck, will be third generation while GM’s current platform is 2nd generation. This new Ford platform will likely form the basis for everything they do in the EV space for years to come. It’s disappointing that it came so late and is taking so long. Meanwhile Hyundai-Kia is quickly becoming the mainstream EV leader. They’ve done a great job over the years rapidly improving their products and keeping them fresh.
I also read another interesting passage in AutoPacific’s press release: “ More than half of all shoppers and considerers believe they can have home charging equipment installed relatively easy and cost effectively, while a quarter are aware of possible required extensive, expensive electrical upgrades.”
I recently found online the construction permit application package used in many California communities for installing a level 2 home charger. It includes a simplified electric load analysis that shows either the home’s current infrastructure is adequate or requires upgrade to accommodate the charging circuit. I think this is a good tool for anyone to use if they are considering buying an EV and want a home level 2 charger so they are anticipate potential costs.
Here is the thing. I have a family of 5 (3 kids under 11) and am a current Ford explorer 3rd row owner. Life with kids is crazy busy. We literally have some kids of sports practice, scouts, after school club etc almost 7 days a week. Many days its multiple activities across town. We barely have time to wait at the gas pump for 5 minutes filling up. Modern families just don’t have time to deal with charging these things or planning our route around EV charging stations.