Ford CEO Jim Farley Outlines Where EREV Tech Makes Sense

[NW Ontario Ford Lightning]

As others have hinted here and in other threads, dealers will "love them" more than they do pure EVs because they will sustain the service department through the usual oil changes, etc. Perhaps that was seen as a big PLUS at Ford for going EREV. When I picked up my Lightning from my Ford dealer in May 2023, one of the dealer reps bitterly complained to me that I was buying a threat to their service department, saying, "How can we sustain our service department with vehicles like this?!"

Imagine complaining "the vehicle is TOO reliable", how dare a customer purchase such a reliable vehicle, what are they thinking!

They should continue to buy unreliable vehicles, so the dealership can forever charge them...lol

To me the practical issue that EREV's solve is towing.
Current Batteries are too big, heavy, expensive to just double their capacity, and they charge too slowly anyway if your towing. Solid state will likely solve these issues eventually, but that is years away at the moment.

EV charging station design wasn't planned out for trailers behind the EV's and although pull through charging is coming, it will take a long time to become widespread. The time to transition both battery tech and charging infrastructure is the issue, and Ford sees the EREV as the temporary solution.

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[Pod]

I really was excited with the Lightning introduction. Jim Farley seemed so genuine and it was a time of excitement. Now, to be honest, not sure I trust anything he says. Hopeful Tuesday gives us some positive EV news but his recent visits to and with the barking yam correlate conspicuously will the anti-EV changes. The Lightning is hands down the best vehicle I’ve ever owned, just need continued support and evolution from Ford. Come on Jim, make good decisions.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Take the five mile view, narrow minded and tunnel vision focus on BEV exclusivity did not win over the market, give of us who are interested in EREV a break for once.

 

[Lytning]

Imagine complaining "the vehicle is TOO reliable", how dare a customer purchase such a reliable vehicle, what are they thinking!

Dear @Ford Motor Company,

Please inform Mr. Farley that my "too reliable" F-150 Lightning is sitting in the dealership parking lot (again) awaiting repair. This time after being bricked during a failed BCM-24.5.1 Convenient Frunk Closing OTA update. Ford BEV Team informed me that the 12 volt battery had high SOC and power before the update, and that there was an issue in the OTA update itself.

Ford Roadside Assistance is also "too reliable". I waited 2-1/2 days before the third Ford-selected "too reliable" tow service provider actually showed up to take my truck to the dealership.

Sincerely,
Lytning

 

[Aminorjourney]

JFC.
I just drove to San Diego in 2 days.

I never had charging issues. I steered clear of **** stations because I don’t want to give money to ****.

We did 609 miles one day and the rest in the second.

There is no way I would have been safe driving 609 miles in a single go. Sure, I may have been quicker, but I’ll take the 1.5 hours of charging I had on day one, any day. It let me grab coffee, have a stretch, and have lunch. I saw sustained 190 kW charging…. Even at 70% it was still over 120 kW.

As for towing? Same deal. I’ve towed cross country and I’d rather do stops…

Driving for more than 2 hours at a time isn’t safe for the driver or others.

 

[chriserx]

Dear @Ford Motor Company,

Please inform Mr. Farley that my "too reliable" F-150 Lightning is sitting in the dealership parking lot (again) awaiting repair. This time after being bricked during a failed BCM-24.5.1 Convenient Frunk Closing OTA update. Ford BEV Team informed me that the 12 volt battery had high SOC and power before the update, and that there was an issue in the OTA update itself.

Ford Roadside Assistance is also "too reliable". I waited 2-1/2 days before the third Ford-selected "too reliable" tow service provider actually showed up to take my truck to the dealership.

Sincerely,
Lytning

That sucks, sorry. But to be fair, it did say convenient frunk closing and not convenient frunk opening.

 

[Lytning]

That sucks, sorry. But to be fair, it did say convenient frunk closing and not convenient frunk opening.

It would neither open nor close. The doors would not open. Displays would not illuminate. The vehicle would not start. As John Prine sang in When I Get To Heaven ... "Dead as a peckerhead".

The emergency frunk release in the cab allowed me to manually open the frunk the first time. I closed the frunk due to rain. When I tried to reopen the frunk with the emergency release again, it would not work. It tried it 6 or 8 times without success. The secondary latch would not release. Since I was by myself, I cut a piece of 5/8" diameter wood dowel about 3" long, pushed it through the loop in the emergency release, and wedged it against trim to keep tension on the release while I went around to lift the frunk. That finally allowed me to manually open the frunk. That piece of dowel is now in the glove box with a 10 mm wrench.

 

[Altivec]

Take the five mile view, narrow minded and tunnel vision focus on BEV exclusivity did not win over the market, give of us who are interested in EREV a break for once.

Hey...I got an idea...why not offer both.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Hey...I got an idea...why not offer both.

If the sheet metal supplier hadn't had those fires, then we might have continued seeing Lightnings, again this was a critical battle decision, saving resources for the future, I still think we will see T3.

 

[Pod]

They were so far along on T3, I hope we see it.

 

[Jim Lewis]

Toyota has FOUR new EVs, not EREVs: Toyota bets on four new electric SUVs to win over EV buyers, (Electrek)

2027 Toyota Highlander: Toyota Reinvents Its Three-Row SUV as All-Electric Vehicle | Cars.com, and

We Got Hands-On With the 2027 Toyota Highlander EV. It's Toyota's Most Important Electric SUV Yet (Edmunds)

and Toyota supposedly has solid-state batteries coming down the chute.

 

[Altivec]

If the sheet metal supplier hadn't had those fires, then we might have continued seeing Lightnings, again this was a critical battle decision, saving resources for the future, I still think we will see T3.

I don’t. Why would they go out of their way to single out its cancellation? Only reason i can think of is because they plan to be out of the BEV game for a long time. By the time they’re back in it, the t3 will be outdated. I’m sure they’ll use elements of it in other places though. My comment on why not do both is more towards their new erev platform. I can’t see why they can’t design it with minimal differences and build them both in the same plant. Seems to be the most future proof way to retain ALL your customers in a market that will inevitably have a tipping point to BEV.

 

[ctuan13]

As others have hinted here and in other threads, dealers will "love them" more than they do pure EVs because they will sustain the service department through the usual oil changes, etc. Perhaps that was seen as a big PLUS at Ford for going EREV. When I picked up my Lightning from my Ford dealer in May 2023, one of the dealer reps bitterly complained to me that I was buying a threat to their service department, saying, "How can we sustain our service department with vehicles like this?!"

If only they had the self awareness to have a moment like this:

 

[NWilson]

I can’t see why they can’t design it with minimal differences and build them both in the same plant.

They can. They are just choosing not to for political and other reasons that have nothing to do with logistics.

Scout is proof of this, as they are building one factory that will produce both BEV and EREV vehicles with minor tweaks to the line. I love my Lightning but I will most likely be trading it for a Scout BEV Terra when they hit the market in 2028 or thereabouts.

I can kinda see both sides of the coin here. Lightning sales numbers were not high enough to sustain the losses Ford was incurring, but it does seem that adding an EREV option while keeping the BEV could have been the fix that would have satisfied a greater number of customers.

When I own my own car company I will be making these decisions. Until then, I'm just a guy on a forum offering my opinion.

 

[TaxmanHog]

If only they had the self awareness to have a moment like this:

If you watch the docu-Drama "Harley and the Davidsons" you'll have a good idea what the brothers thought of Henry Ford......

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