Ford writes off $1.9bn as it cancels plans for all-electric large SUV in US

Carmaker opts to produce hybrid version due to profitability concerns, citing pressure from Chinese EV competition

Ford has written off $1.9bn as it cancelled plans for an all-electric large SUV in the US, opting to produce a hybrid version instead in the latest sign of western carmakers struggling to make profitable electric cars.

The US carmaker said on Wednesday that it would not be able to reach a profit on the electric SUV within a year, its measure of whether a new car is viable, citing the stiff competition from Chinese manufacturers. It will initially write off the cost of $400m (£300m) in tooling for the vehicle, plus another $1.5bn (£1.15bn) in extra costs in the future.

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The car made pedestrians second-class citizens. Don’t let driverless vehicles push us off the road altogether | Adam Tranter

If we want autonomous tech to succeed it must be designed to share space with us, rather than forcing us to adapt to it Adam Tranter is the co-host of the Streets Ahead podcast. He was formerly West Midlands cycling and walking commissioner under mayor Andy Street This week, the UK government announced its plans to fast-track driverless vehicle trials in the UK. One of the key companies involved noted that London presents a significant challenge: “It has seven times more jaywalkers than San Francisco.” There’s more than one problem with that statement – and it encapsulates so much of what’s already going wrong in the adoption of driverless cars. For a start, “jaywalking” isn’t even a thing in the UK. We thankfully have no such concept or offence. Unlike in many US cities, pedestrians here are free to cross the road wherever they see fit. And thank goodness for that. Adam Tranter is the co-host of the Streets Ahead podcast. He was formerly West Midlands cycling and walking co...

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