Ch-ch-ch-changes: Ford announced a slew of them Monday in response to a very different EV market than the one executives expected to materialize by now.

To name a few: The automaker is nixing large EVs that have proven difficult to make profitable in the US, instead investing in extended range electric vehicle (EREV) tech, ramping up its lineup of hybrids, and getting into the stationary energy storage business.

“This is a customer-driven shift to create a stronger, more resilient, and more profitable Ford,” CEO Jim Farley said in a statement. “The operating reality has changed, and we are redeploying capital into higher-return growth opportunities: Ford Pro, our market-leading trucks and vans, hybrids, and high-margin opportunities like our new battery energy storage business.”

The announcement marks another pivot for Ford, following repeated moves by the automaker to adjust its EV strategy amid market changes. Earlier this year, the company announced plans to launch a new, affordable midsize electric truck in 2027, revealed a new vehicle platform that will underpin its next-gen EVs, and unveiled a new manufacturing process that it said would yield major efficiencies.

“Ford is following the customer. We are looking at the market as it is today, not just as everyone predicted it to be five years ago,” Andrew Frick, president of Ford Blue and Ford Model e, said during a news conference. “The American consumer is speaking clearly, and they want the benefits of electrification like instant torque and mobile power, but they also demand affordability, range confidence, vehicles that match their duty cycle, and the freedom to choose the powertrain that fits their life and their work.”

Goodbye BEV, hello EREV: Ford is discontinuing production of the pure battery-electric version of its F-150 Lightning truck and preparing to launch an EREV version at an undisclosed date.

Keep reading here.—JG

In 1950, mathematician Alan Turing developed the imitation game, a test to see if machines can produce responses indistinguishable from those created by humans. Turing’s landmark framework to measure the intelligence of machines is known as the “Turing test”—and it’s what inspired grid software company EnergyHub’s new “Huels test” on the functionality of virtual power plants (VPPs).

A VPP is a group of batteries, thermostats, EVs, and/or other smart technologies that are programmed to dispatch power to and from the grid simultaneously. And while VPPs are proven to help manage rising energy demand and grid stress, there’s still a lot of skepticism surrounding them for larger-scale use.

EnergyHub’s Huels test, named after Matthias Huels, a former EnergyHub data scientist, aims to separate sophisticated VPPs that are able to perform like traditional peaker power plants from those that can’t. Peaker plants are extra power plants, usually powered by fossil fuels, created to satisfy infrequent moments of excess energy demand.

EnergyHub defines the Huels test thusly: “If a grid operator is presented with two resources—one being a traditional peaker plant and the other a VPP—can they tell which is which in operation? If the operator cannot tell the difference, the VPP passes the Huels test and achieves parity—the point at which it can be planned, dispatched, and credited like a traditional plant.”

Keep reading here.—TC

The comeback is always greater than the setback, even for a retail giant like Walmart, which was once late to the world of e-commerce—and is now making strides in the retail industry with AI.

Gone are the days when Walmart was only known for its low-price inventory and vast selection of products under one roof. Today, Walmart has been driving conversations around AI and how it can be deployed within the retail industry. The scale of Walmart’s tech ambition is significant, with Walmart Global Chief Technology Officer and Chief Development Officer Suresh Kumar saying this is “just the beginning” for the legacy retailer.

Walmart earned an advantage by being early to the AI race, Scot Wingo, CEO of ReFiBuy, an AI startup focused on solving problems for retailers using advanced AI frameworks, told Retail Brew.

“They’re one of the first people to do something, and they’re not just a fast follower of Amazon,” Wingo added. “It’s a really interesting signal to me that they’re charting their own course.”

Several experts told IT and Retail Brew that Walmart, after a long game of catch-up in the e-commerce space, has found its bearings with its organization-wide AI deployment. But what does its AI strategy actually look like?

Keep reading here.—BM, VC

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