Ford to Stop F-150 Lightning Production as EV Demand Wanes

Article content

Ford Motor Co. plans to close the Michigan factory that produces its F-150 Lightning plug-in truck, its signature electric vehicle, until the end of the year as demand for EVs continues to decline.

The move is the latest in a model that has been at the heart of Ford’s EV strategy and which CEO Jim Farley said will be “a test of electric vehicles.” The automaker will begin a seven-week shutdown in mid-November of the Dearborn plant visited by US President Joe Biden in 2021, who called the lightning and declared that “this is fast.”

Article content

“We continue to adjust production to better balance sales growth and profitability,” Ford said in a statement Thursday.

Although sales of the Lightning are up this year, they fall well short of Ford’s expectations as many mainstream car buyers shy away from EVs due to high prices and charging infrastructure. Ford began the year by cutting production of the Lightning in half and reducing the factory to a single workforce, while boosting production of gasoline-powered vehicles such as the Bronco sport-utility vehicle.

Ford stopped shipping Lightnings in February due to unspecified quality issues. It then lowers the price of electricity to encourage sales.

Farley talked about the “slow uptake of EVs” during a third-quarter earnings call with analysts Oct. 28 and predicted that Ford will lose $5 billion this year on its battery-powered models. Ford shares fell as it cut profit guidance and said it continues to struggle with high warranty costs to fix quality problems with its models.

The automaker is trying to develop a new line of compact EVs priced under US$30,000 and in August canceled plans to release a three-row electric SUV. Ford has said it will introduce a small electric pickup truck in 2027 built by a “skunkworks” team in California, led by a former Tesla Inc. executive.

“We’re already in our second generation of electric vehicles — they’re going to be launched in the next couple of years,” Farley told analysts on an earnings call. “We will reduce short-term losses in our gen one products and make us global competitors in the long run.”

Lightning production is scheduled to resume on January 6, Ford said. Automotive News previously reported on the lightning industry’s inaction.

Bloomberg.com

Share this article on your social network