The American concern General Motors announced another delay in the launch of its new plant for the production of “green” trucks, which is located in Detroit.< /p>
Many global automakers have actively “joined” the era of total electrification and created development strategies that provide for the complete abandonment of cars with internal combustion engines in a relatively short time. These decisions have been influenced by stricter environmental regulations in countries around the world. However, the implementation of ambitious plans was hindered by the main thing — low demand for “battery-powered” cars, that is, not meeting the expectations of manufacturers.
In the photo : current Ford F-250 pickup
We have previously reported that some companies had to reconsider their strategies. The changes, in particular, have already been announced by Volkswagen (the concern previously had to temporarily shut down its factories producing “green” models), in addition, adjustments were made by Toyota, Renault, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, Cadillac, Audi; Ford also revised its plan for Europe.
In the photo: the current Ford F-350 pickup truck
In addition, Ford made changes to its development strategy in the North American market. In particular, the manufacturer has so far postponed plans to produce fully electric SUVs at the plant, which is located in Oakville (Ontario, Canada): we were talking about the “green” Ford Explorer and Lincoln Aviator. Instead, large Super Duty pickups of the so-called “old school” will be installed on the assembly line of this site.
In the photo : Ford F-600 Super Duty XLT
Electric vehicle production at the Canadian plant has been delayed until 2027, according to the New York Times. Ford spent $3 billion on its modernization. To date, electric vehicles remain expensive to produce and «hard to sell,» according to Ford CEO Jim Farley, unlike Super Duty trucks, which have high margins and strong demand.
According to Bloomberg, General Motors made another statement regarding the revision of plans for “greening”. The management of the concern decided for the second time to postpone the start of production of electric vehicles at its Orion assembly plant in Detroit, where, according to the plan, the Chevrolet Silverado EV should be assembled (the completely “green” truck debuted at the beginning of 2022).
Pictured: Chevrolet Silverado EV
Recall that it was initially assumed that the production of “electric pickups” will start at the end of 2023 , now GM has decided to start mass production of this new product no earlier than mid-2026. This means that the manufacturer will not achieve its previously set goal of producing 1 million electric vehicles by the end of 2025 (this was previously stated by the head of the concern, Mary Barra).
It is worth noting that in Europe Ford decided to offer customers will be offered a “wide range of hybrids” until fans of the brand awaken sufficient interest in electric vehicles (while the already presented electric vehicles will remain on the old-world market).