John McElroy of Autoline Detroit on local TV 2 news (metro Detroit) said:
FRACKING
Fracking has changed everything for the foreseeable future, meaning US energy independence and uninterrupted supplies of oil production.
John McElroy said there have been many hints at this decision as they have discussed on his program, Ford just made it official.
John McElroy said don't forget there will still be hybrid and pure electric versions of SUV's and Crossovers.
The local news crew and McElroy chatted a bit and somehow it came out that Fiat/Chrysler has already gone this route.
It was also noted that Ford actually loses money on just about every car they sell unlike the trucks/SUV's.
One thing changing the map is the cost of car batteries coming down.
Another observation made is US customers seem to prefer have more room inside and metal around them in addition to the higher seating level that affords them a better view of the road.
Some of the local TV hosts commented that the shift to mostly trucks and larger SUV's preceded the crash of 2008 in an attempt to say we have seen this mistake made once before.
In my opinion it is all of the above, fracking, market driven, cost of energy including batteries stabilized or going down, possible trade war, parts supplies and so forth.
One issue never mentioned is the poor condition of our infrastructure, the roads and the potholes being a factor in vehicle purchase decisions. I think many people feel that the larger vehicles with larger tires fare better against their nemesis the pothole.
Another factor rarely mentioned in the customer wanting a larger vehicle suited for longer drive times over longer distances is suburban sprawl.
EDIT: I'm still looking for an updated version of the chart in the link below.
https://www.bts.gov/content/annual-person-miles-traveled-pmt-and-average-daily-pmt-person-1969-1977-1983-1990-1995-2001