Lincoln puts EVs on the back burner amid Ford’s shift to more affordable EV models
After Ford announced a surprising shift to more affordable EVs, its luxury Lincoln brand is putting electric on the back burner.
Lincoln backtracks on EVs as Ford shifts to affordable
In an interview (via Detroit News), Lincoln President Dianne Craig said that the company is “listening to what customers really need.”
According to Craig, since “Navigator customers tend to tow more,” electric vehicles don’t “make as much sense.”
“That’s how we think about this transition — whether it’s hybrids, plug-in hybrids, full hybrids, ultimately to EVs down the road — it’s going to be different depending on segmentation,” Lincoln’s president explained.
The comments starkly contrast what the brand touted just two years ago under then-president Joy Falotico.
Before Craig took over as President in December 2022, Lincoln unveiled its Star Concept that April. The Lincoln Star was presented as the vision for four new EVs promised out by 2026 to compete with GM’s Cadillac Lyriq. Lincoln said EVs were expected to account for half its global volume by 2025.
Here we are, over a quarter of the way through 2024, and Lincoln has yet to launch its first all-electric vehicle.
Craig confirmed the brand won’t make “any grand declarations” on its EV roadmap until “we really understand what our premium customers want.” For now, Lincoln is focusing on its current lineup, including the Corsair, Nautilus, and new Aviator.
Initial plans called for a three-row Aviator EV to enter production by the end of 2024, followed by a Corsair EV in early 2025 and an electric Navigator, which was expected in 2026.
Lincoln launched the new Nautilus this month, which will serve as a tech beacon for Ford’s luxury brand.
Although Lincoln sees the transition to EVs as inevitable, the luxury brand says now is not the right time to make those declarations.
The comments come after a source told Bloomberg Businessweek that Ford was developing a low-cost EV platform to power a smaller electric pickup and SUV with starting prices around $25,000.
Ford’s first affordable EV is expected to launch in 2026 to rival the low-cost electric car Tesla is working on. Meanwhile, Ford is delaying plans for a larger three-row electric SUV due to the shift. Ford’s CEO, Jim Farley, stressed the importance of smaller, more affordable EVs to make a profit.
Electrek’s Take
While Lincoln is “listening to its customers,” the brand could set itself behind rivals like Cadillac, Porsche, BMW, Genesis, Volvo, and others that already have EVs on the road.
Porsche unveiled its electric Macan earlier this year, which has already scored over 10,000 orders. Hyundai’s Genesis brand is expanding in the US after EV sales nearly quadrupled last year.
Volvo is set to launch its fully electric 7-seater SUV, the EX90, starting at $76,695. Range Rover said its first EV had over 16,000 buyers waiting last month. As you can see, there is demand for luxury electric vehicles. Customers don’t know what they want until you show it to them.
By delaying EVs now, Lincoln is only setting itself further behind. EV startups like Rivian and Lucid are also gaining market share in the luxury segment.
Rivian’s R1S electric SUV was the seventh best-selling EV in the US last year, topping the F-150 Lightning and Tesla Model X. More recently, the brand revealed its more affordable R2, which could take even more market share from gas-powered vehicles.
What do you guys think? Is Lincoln making a mistake? Let us know what you think in the comments.
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US coal giant Peabody and Germany’s RWE are teaming up to develop 5.5 gigawatts (GW) of solar and energy storage projects on former mining land in the Midwest.
It’s an unlikely but strategic partnership: RWE is one of the world’s leading renewable energy developers, while Peabody was once the largest private-sector coal company in the world.
RWE is buying into R3 Renewables, a joint venture that Peabody launched alongside Summit Partners Credit Advisors and Riverstone Credit Partners. With this move, RWE is acquiring Summit and Riverstone’s stakes and taking a majority position, while Peabody will hold on to a 25% equity interest. The projects are spread across Indiana and Illinois, focusing on large-scale solar and energy storage on land that Peabody previously mined for coal.
The plan is to develop 10 projects totaling 5.5 GW. RWE will take over seven of these projects, while the remaining three will continue under a joint venture with Peabody. If all goes to plan, these projects could generate enough electricity to power more than 850,000 homes.
For Peabody, which has faced growing pressure to pivot as the world transitions away from fossil fuels, the partnership is part of a broader effort to create value from its reclaimed mining sites. Jim Grech, Peabody’s CEO, says the partnership with RWE marks “significant added momentum” for their renewable energy initiatives.
RWE sees this as a big opportunity to expand in the US Midwest. Andrew Flanagan, CEO of RWE Clean Energy, called the partnership “an exciting opportunity to invest in rural regions of Indiana and Illinois,” promising economic development through construction jobs, investment, and community benefits. The plan aims to support the energy transition while ensuring that communities historically tied to coal still see benefits – this time from clean energy.
Read more: Ørsted’s largest solar farm in the world is now online in Texas
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For years, bitcoin won by being boring.
Investors weren’t able to do all that much with it besides buy and hold it. But that was precisely why the world’s largest cryptocurrency was valuable.
It was a commodity, like gold — or corn. It didn’t get too fancy on its offerings. In fact, bitcoin’s core team of developers has intentionally moved as slowly as possible on everything that touches the base blockchain specifically to avoid breaking things. That’s why many of crypto’s more cavalier coders headed to other blockchains to tinker and do things like build decentralized applications.
The approach worked. Traders poured their money into bitcoin not just because it was the OG coin but also because the network was robust and reliable, and they knew what they were getting. As solana reported hack after hack, bitcoin didn’t really change. The asset was volatile, but aside from a major system upgrade that took four years to design and green-light, bitcoin kept its status as the world’s biggest cryptocurrency by market cap by sticking to the status quo.
But times are changing for the original coin.
Developers are increasingly building on bitcoin’s base blockchain in unexpected ways. Wall Street is also decking the coin out with all its familiar trappings such as exchange-traded fund wrappers and allowing traders to hedge positions and make leveraged bets.
In January, spot bitcoin ETFs began trading, which opened the door to more mainstream investors. Last week, options on those spot crypto products finally started to go live on the Nasdaq and New York Stock Exchange. CBOE Global Markets is also set to list its first cash-settled bitcoin ETF options Dec. 2.
Creating this new margin framework around bitcoin means that both retail traders and institutions alike will be able to get more exposure to the asset class relative to how much cash they’re investing.
New ways to bet on bitcoin
Collectively, the U.S.-issued spot bitcoin funds hold north of $100 billion in assets under management. Last week, they notched their largest weekly inflows on record, totaling more than $3.1 billion. And according to CoinShares, year-to-date net flows are up to $37 billion versus U.S. Gold ETFs, which drew around $309 million in their first year.
Nearly half of those flows into the spot bitcoin products took place after U.S. interest rates were cut for the first time in four years in September.
Vetle Lunde, head of research at K33 Research, told CNBC there has been record high open interest for futures on the CME derivatives exchange, the way most U.S. institutions currently buy bitcoin futures contracts. But a lot of traders have been waiting for options on spot bitcoin ETFs on major exchanges such as the NYSE and Nasdaq, since it enhances liquidity and offers hedging tools.
Lunde says that demand for leveraged long exposure to bitcoin and ether is climbing, with VolatilityShares’ BTC exposure hitting new all-time highs.
Galaxy Digital’s trading team told CNBC the firm has observed significant volume in BlackRock’s IBIT ETF options, the first to launch on the Nasdaq last week. BlackRock is the largest digital asset manager in the world after it eclipsed Grayscale in August. BlackRock’s bitcoin trust IBIT holds $48.4 billion in bitcoin compared with the $34 billion in its gold trust.
Options on IBIT had a blockbuster debut, with 353,716 contracts traded on its first day, according to Galaxy Digital. The firm noted that the previous most active debut of options trading was when Facebook options went live in 2012 and 360,000 contracts changed hands.
Galaxy sees notable trading activity extending out to January 2027, roughly halfway into Donald Trump’s administration. On the campaign trail, the president-elect had an about-face on bitcoin and went from criticizing digital assets to making big promises to the crypto industry. Bitcoin is up roughly 40% since Election Day, Nov. 5.
“This level of concentrated, long-dated activity reflects investor confidence in the ETF’s long-term growth potential, signaling bullish sentiment for the years ahead,” Galaxy’s trading team told CNBC.
Until now, offshore crypto native platforms such as Binance and Deribit have been the main marketplace for bitcoin derivatives trading. Galaxy told CNBC there is a noticeable volatility premium between Deribit, CME and IBIT, which could present arbitrage opportunities among the varying platforms offering derivatives trading.
On Friday, more than $9 billion in bitcoin options contracts expire on Deribit, which could lead to greater price volatility as the expiration date approaches.
“There’s a ton of leverage in the system right now,” Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz, a longtime crypto investor, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Friday.
“You look at the funding rates to do crypto in our market, right? The perpetual market, as high as they’ve been, the basis is high,” Novogratz said. “The crypto community is levered to the gills, and so there will be a correction.”
Bitcoin was within striking distance of $100,000 on Friday but retrenched over the weekend. The cryptocurrency is currently trading at around $95,000.
Environment
Hyundai doesn’t care if Trump kills the EV tax credit, it plans to keep growing either way
Although President-Elect Donald Trump is promising to end the $7,500 EV tax credit, Hyundai is confident it will continue growing in the US. The company just opened a massive new $7.6 billion manufacturing plant in Georgia as it looks to grab a bigger share of the US market.
A Reuters report earlier this month claiming Trump’s transition team is planning to end the $7,500 federal EV tax credit is causing US automakers to brace for the potential major impacts.
Although US market leader Tesla reportedly supports the move, Hyundai Motor, including Kia, is preparing for any outcome.
“Hyundai did not build our [US] investment plan based on incentives; the plan was even made before Trump’s [first] term,” Hyundai’s newly elected CEO, Jose Munoz, said at the LA Auto Show last week.
In an interview with Korean media at the event (via Korea JongAng Daily), Munoz said, “If the Inflation Reduction Act goes out, it goes out for everybody, and we can even do better.” Although Hyundai’s EVs currently don’t qualify for the full $7,500 credit, like some US rivals, the company is still gaining market share.
“Competitors like Tesla step by step are losing market share and we continue to increase our share,” Hyundai’s current global chief operating officer explained.
Hyundai to remain flexible if Trump ends the EV tax credit
Hyundai opened its massive new $7.6 billion manufacturing plant in Georgia last month. The first vehicle that rolled off the assembly line was the new US-made 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5. Hyundai upgraded its top-selling EV with more range, features, and a sleek new design. It also comes with an NACS port to charge at Tesla Superchargers.
Last week, the company also unveiled its first three-row electric SUV, the IONIQ 9, which will also be built at the facility.
However, until the battery unit opens next year, Hyundai’s US-built EVs qualify for a partial $3,750 credit. Until then, Hyundai is passing on the full $7,500 for leases.
Hyundai fast-tracked production to level the playing field in the US, its most important market. With Trump reportedly planning to end subsidies, Hyundai’s new CEO said the company will remain flexible.
“We will not only produce EVs but also hybrids and extended-range EVs at our plants, and therefore, the key for us is flexibility and then being able to adjust to what the customers want,” Munoz told reporters.
As the US is expected to pull back, China’s EV market continues surging. China became the first country to build over 10 million new energy vehicles (EVs and PHEVs) in a single year.
EV leaders, like BYD, are looking overseas to drive growth as a wave of low-cost rivals is hitting China. As sales continue surging, BYD is quickly catching up to Ford in global deliveries.
Munoz said, “China is a big threat,” but he believes Hyundai can compete with “technological prowess” and “quality.”
“A lot of consumers, when they buy Chinese products, they realize maybe the quality is not as good as others,” Hyundai leaders explained. That’s where Hyundai wants to “elevate our game in terms of providing not only the best quality but also the best services to our customers.”
Hyundai Motor, including Kia and Genesis, is outpacing Ford and GM as the second-largest seller of EVs in the US through September. With US production kicking off, Hyundai aims to solidify its spot in the US auto market.
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