While Ford is canceling plans to launch its three-row electric SUV, overseas brands like Kia, Hyundai, and Volvo are looking to take advantage. By scrapping its larger SUV, Ford opened the door for rivals to take control of the segment.
The “personal bullet train,” as Doug Field, Ford’s head of EVs, called the three-row electric SUV, is no longer part of the plans.
Ford announced a drastic shake-up to its EV strategy on Wednesday, including canceling plans for its first three-row electric SUV. The American automaker will instead focus on a new family of hybrid models.
“The reality is that the market changed,” Marin Gjaja, Ford’s COO, told Reuters on Thursday. Following Ford’s investor day last year, share prices rallied when the model was announced.
However, with pushed-back EV initiatives and growing losses in the second quarter, Ford’s stock is down nearly 20% over the past month as investors question its direction.
Gjaja said Ford’s strategy shift shows the automaker is making moves to produce profitable EVs. Ford also announced it will delay the launch of its next-gen pickup. “Project T3” until the second half of 2027, two years later than expected.
Ford is focusing on its low-cost EV platform. The first model to launch on it will be a more affordable mid-size electric truck in 2027. It will also introduce a “digitally advanced” electric van in 2026. But will it be enough to fend off overseas rivals?
Ford cancels three-row electric SUV while rivals step in
By scrapping its larger electric SUV, Ford is opening the door for overseas rivals to take over the segment.
After launching in the US late last year, Kia has sold nearly 11,500 EV9s through July, its first three-row electric SUV.
Starting under $55,000, Kia calls the EV9’s price tag a “wake-up call” for the industry. The EV9 was the sixteenth top-selling EV in the US in Q2, topping Kia’s Niro and the Nissan Ariya.
Hyundai, Kia’s sister company, also plans to launch a three-row EV SUV. The IONIQ 9, as it’s expected to be called, will be revealed later this year. Hyundai’s larger electric SUV has been spotted testing in the US several times ahead of its debut (see a video of it here).
Hyundai Motor Group, including Kia and Genesis, already topped Ford in the second quarter, accounting for 10% of the US electric vehicle market.
Ford was third with 7.4% of the market, followed by GM at 6.3%, according to data from Motor Intelligence.
Volvo is another brand that’s targeting the three-row electric SUV market. The Swedish automaker expects big results from its upcoming EX90, which is scheduled to hit US dealerships later this year.
Volvo and Kia are both building electric SUVs in the US as they look to grab a piece of the market.
Rival GM is also planning to begin building its three-row Cadillac Escalade IQ SUV. Meanwhile, after upgrading its Normal, IL plant in April, Rivian expects R1S output to pick up in the second half of the year. Rivian’s R1S was already the sixth top-selling EV in the US in Q2.
Will affordable electric cars be Ford’s savior? Or will it be too little too late by then? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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The US wind industry installed just 5.2 gigawatts (GW) in 2024 – the lowest level in a decade, according to Wood Mackenzie’s new US Wind Energy Monitor report. Installations are expected to rebound in 2025, but the real concern lies in US wind’s sharply downgraded 5-year outlook. As for the reason behind that bleak forecast, we’ll give you one guess as to why, and it starts with a T.
Wood Mac reports that 3.9 GW of onshore wind came online last year, along with 1.3 GW of onshore repowers and 101 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind.
Onshore wind
The US is expected to achieve more than 160 GW of installed onshore capacity by 2025, and onshore growth is projected to bounce back from 2024 and surpass 6.3 GW this year.
“The cliff in 2023 and 2024 created by the Production Tax Credit (PTC) push in 2022 will come to an end,” said Stephen Maldonado, research analyst at Wood Mackenzie. “Despite the uncertainty created by the new administration, the massive number of orders placed in 2023 culminating in projects now under construction support the short-term forecast.”
The pipeline for onshore has 10.8 GW currently under construction through 2027, with another 3.9 GW announced.
GE Vernova led onshore wind installations in 2024 with 56% of the market and will continue to lead in connections for the next five years. It was followed by Vestas (40%) and Siemens Gamesa (4%).
Offshore wind
Offshore wind is projected to increase in 2025 as well, with 900 MW of installed capacity, up from a disappointing 101 MW in 2024. However, several projects have been shelved in the wake of Trump’s anti-wind executive orders, which downgraded the five-year outlook by 1.8 GW.
Electrek’s Take on US wind’s 5-year outlook
According to Wood Mac, 33 GW of new onshore wind capacity will be installed through 2029, along with 6.6 GW of new offshore capacity and 5.5 GW of repowers. However, due to Trump’s anti-wind policy and economic uncertainty, this five-year outlook is 40% less than a previous total of 75.8 GW. Growth will happen, but it’s going to be slower.
The main reason is Trump’s flourish of his Sharpie on executive orders that include “temporary” withdrawal of offshore wind leasing areas and putting a stop to onshore wind on federal lands. Plus, firing all those federal employees will likely make permitting wind farms a slower process. (Trump just wrote more executive orders today allowing coal projects on federal lands; he won’t have federal employees to issue permits for those, either.) He’s worked to throw up obstacles for wind projects in favor of fossil fuels. He won’t stop the wind industry, but he’s managed to get some projects canceled, and he’ll make things more of a slog over the next few years.
Read more: Coal is dead and Trump’s executive order won’t revive it
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BYD’s cheapest EV in China just got even more affordable. After cutting prices this month, the BYD Seagull EV starts at just 56,800 yuan, or under $8,000.
BYD cuts Seagull EV price to under $8,000 in April
Despite an intensifying EV price war in China, BYD is cutting prices once again. The Chinese EV giant announced a new promotion this month across several Ocean Series models, including the Seagull.
The 2025 BYD Seagull EV is available starting at just 56,800 yuan ($7,800). The offer is for the non-Smart Driving Vitality Edition model, which usually starts at 69,800 yuan ($9,500).
After launching the new Seagull last year, BYD said the low-cost electric car officially opened “a new era of electricity being lower than oil.” Earlier this year, it upgraded most of its vehicles, including the Seagull, with its new “God’s Eye” smart driving system at no extra charge.
BYD’s Seagull is offered in three trims in China: Vitality, Freedom, and Flying. It has two battery options, 30.1 kWh or 38.9 kWh, which is good for the 305 km (190 mi) and 405 km (252 mi) CLTC range, respectively.
At just 3,780 mm long, 1,715 mm wide, and 1,540 mm tall, the Seagull is even smaller than the former Chevy Bolt EV (4,145 mm long, 1,765 mm wide, and 1,611 mm tall). It’s about the size of a Fiat 500e.
The price cut comes as BYD’s sales continue surging. With another 377,420 new energy vehicles (EVs and PHEVs) sold last month, the Chinese automaker has now sold over one million NEVs in 2025.
BYD’s EVs accounted for 416,388 while PHEV sales reached 569,710, an increase of 39% and 76% from last year, respectively.
| BYD Seagull EV trim | Starting Price | Range (CLTC) |
| Vitality | Normal: $9,500 (69,800 yuan) Now: $8,000 (56,800 yuan) |
190 mi (305 km) |
| Freedom | $10,300 (75,800 yuan) | 190 mi (305 km) |
| Flying | $11,700 (85,800 yuan) | 252 mi (405 km) |
Perhaps even more importantly, BYD sold over 206,000 vehicles overseas in 2025, more than doubling from last year. The Seagull EV is also sold in other global markets like Mexico and Brazil as the Dolphin Mini.
Later this year, it will launch in Europe as the Dolphin Surf, with expected prices starting under £20,000 ($26,000). Although it may not be the cheapest EV, BYD’s executive vice president, Stella Li, recently told Autocar it will be “the best value” when it arrives.
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