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.