- Ford said Thursday it's delaying the release of new three-row EVs by two years.
- It's not the first time the auto giant has hit the brakes on electric vehicles.
- Sales growth for hybrid cars is outpacing EVs this year.
Ford said Thursday it'll push back the release of its upcoming three-row electric vehicles by two years — from 2025 to 2027.
At the same time, the company said it is working on expanding its hybrid offerings, with hybrid models expected across its Ford Blue lineup in North America's by the end of the decade.
Ford said the EV delays would give it additional time to incorporate emerging battery technology.
"As the No. 2 EV brand in the US for the past two years, we are committed to scaling a profitable EV business," Ford president and CEO Jim Farley said in a statement. He added the company's "next-generation EVs will be new from the ground up and fully software enabled, with ever-improving digital experiences."
Despite the delays, the company said it's ramping up EV manufacturing across various facilities.
Ford is transforming its Oakville Assembly plant in Ontario — where the three-row electric vehicles will be produced — from a gas facility to an electric one beginning in the second quarter of this year.
A still-in-the-works BlueOval City campus in Tennessee will produce the sheet metal stampings for its new electric truck, which will deliver in 2026, Ford said.
Ford is also expanding an Ohio plant to make room for EV production in 2025, the company said, while a skunkworks team in California is developing new EV platforms.
It's not the first time Ford has hit the brakes on EVs. In October, the auto giant paused a $12 billion investment in the sector, saying electric vehicles were too expensive and that demand was slowing — as fellow automakers echoed its cautious tone.
Meanwhile, sales growth for hybrid cars is outpacing electric vehicles this year, Business Insider previously reported, partly due to high prices and driver worries about charging electric cars.