Author: EVAI
Ford promises more affordable EVs as it loses money on them
In its quarterly earnings call this week, Ford reported significant losses on EVs—but still promised lower-priced models.
As reported by CNN, Ford said its EV unit lost $1.3 billion in the first quarter, or $132,000 for each of the roughly 10,000 EVs sold by the automaker during that period. Sales were down 20% from a year earlier, but revenue was down 84%, something Ford attributed to industry-wide EV price cuts.
2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E
Ford CEO Jim Farley predicted an EV price war in 2022, although it doesn’t seem like the automaker was able to prepare for it. On the earnings call, Ford CFO John Lawler said the automaker has removed $5,000 in cost from the Mustang Mach-E crossover, but the revenue drop is happening faster than cost removals like this can happen.
Instead of waiting for the traditional mid-cycle refresh, Ford has incrementally re-engineered the Mach-E to lower manufacturing costs, and it’s cut Mach-E prices. But the automaker still has to recoup hundreds of millions of dollars invested in development of next-generation EVs, and that’s not likely to happen for years, CNN noted.
2024 Ford F-150 Lightning
These next-generation EVs will reportedly prioritize both profitability and lower prices, while a more expensive, next-generation electric pickup truck to follow the F-150 Lightning and a three-row SUV have been delayed.
Farley has also said cost parity with internal-combustion vehicles might not happen until 2030, although plans for an LFP battery plant in Michigan that Ford sees as key for EV affordability might accelerate that. But what might really solve the problem of EV profitability is the arrival of higher-volume models than the current Mach-E and Lightning.
Mazda applies its design flair to China with EZ-6 electric sedan
An electrified successor to the Mazda 6 mid-size sedan goes on sale in China later this year, but prospects for the U.S. are unclear.
Unveiled at the 2024 Beijing auto show, the Mazda EZ-6 combines the Japanese automaker’s signature design flair with powertrain tech from Changan Automobile, Mazda’s Chinese partner. Mazda hasn’t confirmed sales plans for other markets.
The rear-wheel drive EZ-6 will be available with plug-in hybrid and all-electric powertrains, with the latter delivering an ideal 50/50 front/rear weight distribution and a maximum range of 373 miles, as measured on the Chinese testing cycle. Mazda also estimates 621 miles of total range from both a full battery and a single tank of fuel for the plug-in hybrid.
2025 Mazda EZ-6
The EZ-6 measures 193.7 inches long, making it about 4.5 inches longer than the last Mazda 6, which left the U.S. market after the 2021 model year. While Mazda touted the efficiency of the final-generation model’s Skyactiv internal-combustion engines, it was never available with electrified powertrains.
Mazda didn’t discuss other specifications, but confirmed that Changan is responsible for the EZ-6’s powertrains and connectivity tech. Such tech includes gesture controls and voice recognition, supplementing a large horizontal infotainment touchscreen.
The Chinese focus of the EZ-6 means Mazda’s electrification plans for the U.S. remain hard to parse.
2025 Mazda EZ-6
Mazda created the MX-30 EV for the U.S. (and Europe) as a shorter-range EV with an available range-extended rotary version, reflecting corporate thinking that longer-range EVs aren’t the future. But it’s already cut those models from the lineup. It might be just as well, as the range-extended version in particular was a plug-in puzzle that didn’t make a lot of sense for real-world use.
Mazda and Panasonic last year finalized an agreement for cylindrical EV batteries, and Mazda also showed the Iconic SP hybrid concept, which traded heavily on the heritage of the rotary-engine RX-7 sports car. But plug-in hybrids aside, all of this chatter hasn’t led to any actual electrified models for the U.S.
Toyota confirms second 3-row electric SUV for US production
Toyota announced on Thursday that it plans to build a new three-row battery-electric SUV in Princeton, Indiana, with a corresponding $1.4 billion investment in the plant.
The company emphasizes that this announcement comes in addition to the recent $1.3 billion investment in the automaker’s Kentucky plant, to build a separate three-row battery-electric SUV, starting in 2025.
In other words, yes, Toyota will have two different three-row electric SUVs. A report from earlier this month pegged one of those EVs as a fully electric Toyota Highlander EV—with a potential Lexus TZ sibling. A Thursday report from Automotive News suggests that with this vehicle due for Indiana in 2026, the Kentucky plant’s EV due for production in 2025 might be a Toyota bZ5X.
2023 Toyota bZ4X Limited AWD
Reports have suggested that Toyota is having second thoughts about the bZ nomenclature for EVs, and as such it’s unclear which of these two SUVs—the Highlander EV or bZ5X—would be the more premium one, or how they might coexist.
The best hint of the latter vehicle came in May 2023, when Toyota said that its 2026 EVs would be built on three different platforms—a software platform, an electronic platform, and a body and chassis platform. Toyota also said then that it was completely rethinking the manufacturing process for EVs. So it’s possible the Kentucky EV could represent all of these advancements while, as Automotive News points out—seemingly agreeing with this alignment—the Indiana EV will be a “chassis-based” one sharing components with gasoline models.
Toyota Land Cruiser Se concept
Toyota Land Cruiser Se concept
Toyota Land Cruiser Se concept
So the big Land Cruiser Se concept shown at Tokyo in October 2023 might be pushed toward Kentucky production, with a somewhat smaller Highlander EV to follow in Indiana.
In May 2023, Toyota said that it planned to launch 10 new EVs, ranging from luxury vehicles to compact cars and commercial vehicles, “mainly in the United States and China,” by 2026. That would help Toyota reach what it called a 1.5-million-EV “baseline” in 2026.
With Thursday’s announcement, the automaker will also add a new battery pack assembly to its $13.9 billion battery facility in North Carolina, due to start production in 2025 for a range of electrified vehicles. According to Toyota, the Indiana EV announcement itself adds up to “340 new, sustainable U.S. jobs.”
2024 Lexus TX 550h+ plug-in hybrid
As Toyota points out, the Indiana plant already employs 7,500 workers and makes the Toyota Sienna hybrid minivan, Toyota Highlander and Grand Highlander SUVs, which are offered in hybrid and non-hybrid versions. It also makes the Lexus TX, which is offered in standard, hybrid, and TX 550h+ plug-in hybrid variants.
Mini Aceman EV, GM home-backup hardware, 2024 EV sales to climb: Today’s Car News
GM reveals more about what will turn its EVs into backup power for the home. Mini shows its Aceman EV. And EV sales are set to make gains in the U.S. and globally in 2024. This and more, here at Green Car Reports.
The Mini Aceman urban EV has been revealed, and it quite closely follows the 2022 concept car of the same name. If this model arrives in the U.S., it would fit between the Cooper and Countryman in the brand’s lineup.
GM this past week released details regarding the home energy backup functionality that’s available for its Chevy Silverado EV RST electric pickup as vehicle-to-home (V2H). Does it make sense versus other EVs claiming this skill set—or home battery systems like the Tesla Powerwall?
According to the International Energy Agency, in an annual report and forecast out this week, EVs are set for 11% of the U.S. vehicle share, and about 20% of all cars sold globally. Because of all the battery investment, automaker commitments, and emissions regulations, half of new vehicles sold globally could be EVs, it says.
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