Does anyone know what’s going on with Ford? Why aren’t they going all in on an electric version of their top SUV, the Explorer? Seems like the family SUV EV market is ripe for the taking.
The Rivian R1S isn’t quite there—no pass-through seating. The VW electric van feels too quirky. Volvo’s EV XC90 doesn’t have captain’s chairs, feels cramped, and seems underpowered. The Kia EV9 might be the best option, but it’s still a year away.
Meanwhile, Honda, Toyota, and Infiniti are just sitting around doing nothing. Why isn’t Ford stepping up with an Explorer EV? Is it fear of losing money or cannibalizing their current sales? Mustang Mach-E hasn’t exactly been a huge success…
Ford plans to build the Explorer EV at the same factory as the Mustang Mach-E, but production capacity is limited. They can’t even meet the current demand for the Mach-E.
Lyle said:
Ford plans to build the Explorer EV at the same factory as the Mustang Mach-E, but production capacity is limited. They can’t even meet the current demand for the Mach-E.
Any idea what’s causing the bottleneck? Is it a battery supply issue?
@Quin
It’s a little bit of everything. Ford’s supply chain is a mess. They’d probably be leading in sales if they had better management.
I just got my F350 after waiting nearly a year—it’s one of their highest-margin vehicles on an old platform, and still, it took forever. Meanwhile, I’ve seen plenty of Mach-Es sitting on dealer lots around here.
I doubt we’ll see the current Explorer platform electrified. Maybe Ford will go for a new, larger 3-row SUV to replace both the Flex and Explorer? The current Explorer hasn’t been great anyway—early quality issues, a fired plant manager, bad reviews about driving performance, cheap materials, and cramped space. They have a lot to fix.
Ford might focus on an electric Lincoln Navigator first. They could justify the higher cost there, plus they’re still sorting out their battery supply. Trucks are more profitable for them right now.
Roux said:
Ford might focus on an electric Lincoln Navigator first. They could justify the higher cost there, plus they’re still sorting out their battery supply. Trucks are more profitable for them right now.
A Navigator EV would be amazing, but it’ll need a monster battery to pull it off.
The 3-row non-luxury SUV EV market is wide open. Vehicles like the Explorer and Pilot cost around $50k now. If you factor in savings on gas and maintenance, buyers might be okay with paying $60k for an EV. The Hyundai Ioniq 7 and Kia EV9 will probably be the first to jump in.
@Dakota
Totally agree. It feels like Kia and Hyundai are ready to steal the show from Honda and Toyota, who’ve been slow to bring EVs to the table. I’m surprised VW hasn’t pushed out an Atlas EV yet—it would crush it. And Subaru? Nothing on an Ascent EV either. I haven’t heard much about an EV Acadia either.
It takes a long time and a lot of money to design, engineer, and manufacture a car. Ford can’t even keep up with demand for their current EVs, let alone new ones. It’ll happen eventually, but not anytime soon.
Ford isn’t in a position to move quickly on this. They’re still production-limited and dealing with issues on their current EVs. The Lightning and Mach-E were rushed and based on older platforms. Ford needs a dedicated EV platform moving forward to fix problems like the extra wiring in the Mach-E, which adds unnecessary weight and costs.
The EV9 might be the first proper 7-seater because it’s built on a better platform. VW hasn’t brought the ID.6 to the US yet, maybe because they’re still ironing out issues with the ID.4.
Dakota said:
Small? Have you seen a Volvo XC90 in person?
I used to own one and even have a pre-order for the EV version. But the early interior videos made it look pretty tight in the rear. It’s bigger than a Model X, sure, but not as boxy as the R1S. And the frunk seems smaller than other EVs in its class. My biggest complaint? The top-tier version only comes with fabric seats.
Pat said:
Why do you say the Mustang Mach-E is a bust? It had a 9-month wait. The delays for the Explorer EV are mainly because of battery supply issues.
I guess it depends on how you define success. It doesn’t seem to compete well with Tesla. Its growth rate isn’t as strong, and there’ve been a lot of recalls—like the axle and power loss issues. They even had a stop-sale order at one point. And don’t forget the mile of extra wiring that added unnecessary costs. If it’s not a bust, it’s hard to call it a success either.