In October, Ford’s electric F-150 Lightning pickups sold less than 2,000 units.
According to persons familiar with the situation, the Wall Street Journal said Thursday that executives at Ford Motor Company are thinking of discontinuing the electric variant of the automaker’s F-150 pickup vehicle.
Due to a fire at an aluminum supplier’s plant, Ford (F) had already stopped producing the F-150 Lightning and was instead concentrating on gas-powered and hybrid versions of the truck. For many years, the F-150 has been the top-selling car in the US.
The F-150 Lightning would become one of the first and most noticeable victims of the EV downturn that has affected automakers this year if its 2022 run came to an end. EVs are more expensive than gas-powered cars, and the tax breaks offered by the Biden administration for them expired in September.
The executives are reportedly engaged in “active discussions” to scuttle the car. According to the Journal, no decision has been made yet.
According to a Ford representative, the corporation doesn’t address “speculation about future product plans.”
The supplier’s spokeswoman stated, “As we recover from the fire, we’re focused on producing F-150 [internal-combustion engine] and hybrid [vehicles] right now.” “We have good inventories of the F-150 Lightning and will bring Rouge Electric Vehicle Center (REVC) back up at the right time, but don’t have an exact date at this time.”
Earlier this month, Ford reported a 25% decline in October sales of its electric vehicles when compared to October 2024. The Lightning had a 17% decline as a result. That month, Ford sold almost 68,000 F-150 Series pickups, but fewer than 1,600 of the electric model.
In order to meet “strong” customer demand for the pickup trucks and make up for production losses resulting from the fire at an aluminum supplier’s factory, the automaker last month announced a plan to catch up on production of its most popular vehicle, the F-150. But it put the Lightning’s production on hold.
Ford announced plans to add over 50,000 trucks to its F-Series lineup of cars, which includes both gasoline and hybrid models, in the upcoming year.
Since gas and hybrid F-Series trucks are more profitable and require less metal than EVs, the automaker said that it was giving them priority. The business subsequently announced that hourly workers at Ford’s EV plant in the Detroit region, REVC, will join a third crew at its truck plant in Dearborn, which is next door, as part of the plan.
Ford announced a new four-door, midsize electric pickup truck that would cost roughly $30,000 in two years when it redesigned its EV plan in August. According to Ford, the new car would be constructed on a new universal EV platform that should cut down on parts by 20% and assembly time by 15%. The starting price of a Ford Lightning is roughly $52,000.
