Ford Ditching Popular Cars To Pursue Electric Vehicles

(DailyVantage.com) – Ford Motor Company is reportedly planning to discontinue production of three models to make way for further investment in the production of electric vehicles.

The trade journal Automotive News reported in late August that the company will stop producing the Ford Edge, the Ford Escape, and the Ford Transit Connect in US markets but will likely continue to offer the models overseas.

According to the report, the Ford Edge will be pulled from US markets next year so the company can refurbish the Oakville, Canada, plant that builds the Edge to manufacture electric vehicles.

Another model pulled from the US market is the compact Transit Connect van. In March, Ford announced that the model would be discontinued after 2023 as part of its effort to cut manufacturing costs. The company cited a decreased demand in the United States for compact vans as the reason.

In 2025, the company plans to discontinue the Ford Escape to clear the way for the production of a yet-to-be-announced electric model.

In late July, Ford estimated that the company’s electric vehicle division would lose $4.5 billion in 2023, $1.5 billion more than it initially projected, Reuters reported.

According to the report, during the second quarter, the company lost on average $32,000 for each electric car sold.

Earlier this year, the Biden administration announced that it wants two-thirds of new cars sold in the United States by 2032 to be electric.

Last week, the Department of Energy announced a program to provide $10 billion in loans and $2 billion in grants to support automakers and parts suppliers as they work to convert existing facilities and build new facilities for the manufacture of hybrid and electric vehicles.

According to a statement released last Thursday, the program will boost domestic manufacturing of electric vehicles by helping companies refurbish or build EV factories in communities that already have manufacturing facilities.

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