I just thought of something else, by now Ford  was supposed to have  the GE2 BEV 3- Row Utility. I have to imagine that the continued delaying over years and silent cancellation have meant many changes and mis steps to what is done with Explorer, it’s refreshes and high series options.   Was Ford caught economising Explorer, changing long run supplier contracts because of the  3- row BEV that’s now been cancelled?  

Seems like legacy car makers are struggling with the electronics on EVs and this is VWs way of getting around that. 

Black label went part of the way towards matching the level of customised interior trim selection in Escalade, I think that’s still an issue for the high end buyers plus those people probably expect a V8 to go with top money. You can see that Ford is not interested in going down those rabbit holes, mostly because it has been  gearing up for a 3-Row BEV Lincoln for years but simply can’t get that done (Rivian based Lincoln) until T3 3-Row SUV drops.   Looks like Lincoln is still stuck between two plans?

LOL, Groundhog Day for Ford and VW? All of this has a very familiar ring to it, Rivian based Lincoln 3-row utility for one.

My guess is it’s more of not wanting to commit the people resources to make it happen, at least not yet.  With the factory opening up and EVs pulling back that might change.

Model Y will likely lose additional ground in 2025, given lower sales numbers for Tesla through first half of this year.  Toyota no doubt deserves credit for various models doing great, but IMO Model Y losing top honor is largely on Musk.  If nothing else, corporations should have learned by now that CEOs should be discouraged or prohibited from engaging in partisan politics, at least beyond their own company’s business.   It’s also interesting IMO that top sellers are better known for value and substance than flashiness and exciting designs.  Not saying vehicles should be boring and ugly, just that emphasizing excessive power, performance, great looks, etc. may not lead to additional sales as much as we often discuss and or expect, particularly if it adds significant costs.

It seems kind of risky to only use one EV platform for such a large corporation. 

The Mustang could use a styling intervention. I think part of the reason why Mustang sales have slumped is due to the more evolutionary approach to its styling. It has looked pretty similar since 2015. 

Don't think I've seen this posted here yet. Interesting turn of events... https://fordauthority.com/2025/06/ford-partner-vw-will-use-rivian-r2-platform-for-all-future-evs/  

I think we've had this conversation before, but I don't see how making it more compelling and more in demand with the same supply wouldn't enable then to push ATPs even higher and therefor margins. Obviously some info we're not privy to (and see your point that maybe the R&D can't be recouped at that volume), but hard to believe it wouldn't be able to have better margins than a superduty when it's mostly just software/tech that they get for pennies relative to what they sell it for. Either way it is pretty disappointing and frustrating that Lincoln gets the 'good enough' treatment again, even after all the talk and separating from Ford hoopla.