https://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Gus Carlson is a U.S.-based columnist for The Globe and Mail.
Ford Motor Co.’s decision to produce gas-powered trucks at its Oakville, Ont., assembly plant and push off its electric-vehicle plans is yet another reminder that free-market realities rooted in customer demand win over ideology and government mandates every time.
Ford’s move, announced last week, reflects continued hesitance among car buyers about a wholesale shift to an all-electric future that has slowed EV sales globally and put automakers’ investments in the emerging technology at risk. Ford, for example, has said it lost US$4.7-billion on EVs in 2023, and expects to lose US$5.5-billion this year.
Moreover, Ford’s decision reflects consumers’ mounting resistance to government efforts in the United States and Canada to press them into buying things they simply don’t want.
Whether it’s EV sticker prices, range anxiety, the cost of maintenance, repairs and insurance, or resale concerns, car buyers are voting with their wallets with such fervour that mandates for all new-car sales to be EVs by 2035 look less and less likely to hold.
For the rest of this column: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-ontario-should-be-thanking-ford-for-pivoting-away-from-electric/