Ford abandons all-electric race programme in fresh sign of the EV retreat reaching Europe

Ford has dropped the exclusively electric focus of its high-performance "Demonstrator" programme, the latest signal that the industry's retreat from battery power is broadening from the showroom to the racetrack, with implications for a European market already wrestling with softening EV demand.

Ford Racing will continue developing the technology testbeds, which have included the Supervan 4.2, an F-150 Lightning Supertruck and a Mustang Cobra Jet, but will no longer confine them to electric powertrains. The vehicles have become fixtures at European motorsport events, most prominently the Goodwood Festival of Speed, and have served as rolling laboratories for Ford's electric drivetrain engineering. Ford Racing boss Mark Rushbrook told Autocar the shift reflects a powertrain mix that will change more slowly than once assumed, with combustion, hybrid and full-electric options all retained.

The move is small in isolation, yet it crystallises a wider recalibration. Ford has already reversed much of its splashy electrification push in the United States, pivoting toward hybrids and extended-range vehicles after concluding that large battery models lacked a path to profit. For European watchers, the read-across is uncomfortable. The continent's manufacturers face the same demand wobble, intensifying Chinese competition and rising scepticism about the pace of the transition.

It also lands against a shifting regulatory backdrop. Brussels has already softened its 2035 target from a full combustion ban to a 90 per cent emissions cut, allowing hybrids and combustion engines a longer life, with negotiations between Parliament and Council continuing under the Cypriot presidency. A Detroit motorsport decision will not move that file, but the symbolism is potent. When even the EV showcase pivots away from batteries, the narrative of inevitability looks increasingly fragile.