U.S. News
Ford’s F-150 Lightning Production Slashed Next Year!
"Black Ford F-150 Raptor" by DiamondBack Truck Covers is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
Clear Facts
- Ford Motor Co. plans to reduce F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck production to an average of 1,600 per week starting in January.
- The decision is attributed to “changing market demand” and the company’s intention to match production to customer demand.
- Ford has sold over 20,300 F-150 Lightning trucks in the U.S. since the start of the year, representing a 53.6% year-over-year increase.
Ford Motor Co. will reportedly soon reduce the number of F-150 Lightning electric pickup trucks it builds on average every week. In a message to suppliers, the automaker said “changing market demand” led to it adjusting its planned Rouge Electric Vehicle Center production of the pickup to an average of 1,600 per week, according to Automotive News. That will reportedly begin in January.
Ford “will continue to match Lightning production to customer demand,” a company spokesperson told FOX Business on Tuesday. The Rouge Electric Vehicle Center, which opened in Dearborn, Michigan, in 2021, received upgrades over the summer meant to lift its targeted annual F-150 Lightning run rate to 150,000, with the facility’s operations picking back up at the beginning of August, according to a press release.
There had earlier been plans of averaging 3,200 per week in connection to that, Automotive News reported. The reported F-150 Lightning production slowdown comes after Chief Financial Officer John Lawler said during Ford’s third-quarter earnings call that the company was “being judicious about our production and adjusting future capacity to better match market demand” for its electric vehicle (EV) business “given the dynamic EV environment.”
“For example, we have taken out some Mustang Mach-E production, and we are also slowing down several investments, including making a decision with SK On to delay the second BlueOval SK JV battery plant in Kentucky, and we have also said we are evaluating our BlueOval Battery Park Michigan plant to determine the best path forward,” he said. “In fact, all told, we have pushed about $12 billion of EV spend, which includes capex, direct investment and expense.”
The “ultimate success” of the company’s EV transition “will be driven by our Gen 2 and Gen 3 products, which will be cost-optimized and guided by the learnings of our first-generation vehicles that are currently in the market,” according to Lawler.
Ford reported earlier this month that people in the U.S. had purchased over 20,300 F-150 Lightning trucks since the start of the year. That figure, which represented a 53.6% year-over-year increase, included sales of nearly 4,400 in November, according to the company. It has been producing the electric pickup since April 2022.
The company, which produces combustion, electric and hybrid vehicles, forecast that it will see an adjusted EBIT in the range of $10 billion to $10.5 billion for the year.
Clear Thoughts (op-ed)
Ford’s decision to cut F-150 Lightning production is a concerning move.
The company cites “changing market demand” for the reduction, but we must question if it’s the demand that’s changing, or Ford’s commitment to electric vehicles (EVs).
Despite a 53.6% year-over-year increase in F-150 Lightning sales, Ford seems to be pulling back on its EV investments.
CFO John Lawler mentioned delaying battery plants and reevaluating the Michigan Battery Park.
Is this a prudent response to market fluctuations, or a sign that Ford is hesitant to fully embrace the EV revolution?
Only time will tell, but for now, this decision raises more questions than answers.
Let us know what you think, please share your thoughts in the comments below.
Jose T
December 15, 2023 at 6:44 pm
If Ford doesn’t fix the towing problem, there’ll only be a few sold. As it is now, it’s just for “driving around” to the grocery store. It’s not for work, it has no power to perform the work a truck does.
Clay
December 15, 2023 at 7:10 pm
It still takes fossil fuel to to get electricity to charge those things. Last I heard a charging station took 8 hours. No thanks. When I am on the road I need to run non-stop.
IlligitimateBiden
December 15, 2023 at 7:55 pm
America is NOT ready for EVs!
And, who wants to wait for a charge, cost to much, where do they dispose the batteries, so maybe EVs get 300 miles to the charge but everytime you charge it up you lose battery life, plus to many battery fires!!
Ross Culver
December 15, 2023 at 8:29 pm
we don’t have the infrastructure for EV’s, they cost more to operate and they really don’t cut the greenhouse gas emissions, they really need to go after the factories to cut the emissions
CharlieSeattle
December 15, 2023 at 9:50 pm
Ha, Ha, HAA! EV’s are a delusional leftist wet dream!
Gary N Christie
December 19, 2023 at 10:19 pm
LMFAO !!!
inyoface
December 15, 2023 at 10:48 pm
I get this picture of the Griswald’s “Christmas Vacation” when he plugs in all those Christmas lights and the scene of the power companies alarm’s going off. That be us when everybody plug’s in their EV’s at night.Just can’t fix stupid.
ARJAY
December 16, 2023 at 12:39 am
DUUUUUUUHHHH! It’s only logical to produce a product of ANY kind to its demand!! ONLY idiot company executives would produce more product than can be sold, UNLESS their goal is to put the company into bankruptcy!
[email protected]
December 16, 2023 at 1:21 am
Comfortable now, but not rich. (Hopefully we’ll get rid of Biden, remaining so.) Blessed with a pension that does NOT provide cost of living increases, it’s less likely it will go BUST. Bad news, my IRAs and annuity investments, lost money, aren’t keeping up with inflation either.
In CA JUNGLE PRIMARY, usually vote for the least Evil of 2 DEMS on ballot in final election. I disliked Barbra Boxer as a US Senator, but her staff ensured my wife’s father, my mentor, died a US citizen. Considering she was the best of bad choices (AKA Kamala Harris), I would have voted for her anyway as a lesser EVIL, more competent.
I’ve never dated, married or voted, for skin color, ethnicity, or culture. What’s inside an individual, makes good marriages, families, and leadership making good societies.
John B Hand
December 16, 2023 at 2:56 am
Money. It’s all about money. If an executive gets a bit under the table, he will do whatever it takes to have the income continue, even if it means hurting the company he works for, and the country he lives in. But money can’t buy all the executives in the high tower, so sooner or later, they must reign in the building of vehicles that don’t sell.
I drive a hybrid that I like, a Prius, and I am very happy with it because being a combo of gas AND electric, it gets me 46 or more MPG on the highway and I don’t drive slow. Is it slow? No, because somehow it seems few, if ever, pass me. I also drive a Miata, and a hot motorcycle, and for those, no hybrid needed. They run, and they get good MPG, and oh yes, the fun level is there as well.
CandygramForMongo
December 16, 2023 at 7:19 am
Soon everyone will be driving a phucking Fred Flintsone mobile…….no floorboards……just foot work!!! HELL AWAITS THESE LIARS AND DECEIVERS!!!!
Al Clarke
March 1, 2024 at 7:14 pm
Loaded to capacity ? Night drive? Extreme cold? Extreme heat? All of these conditions can reduce battery performance to about 40% of stated capacity. On top of that, running heating or air conditioning and headlights further reduces the length of your charge. The batteries can recharge up to about 70000 running miles in optimum conditions, Then you replace the battery at a cost of anywhere from 14 to $28000. Some uncontrolled experiments have shown that it can take more money in electricity for a fast charge of 1-4 hours than it would cost to get the same miles in gasoline. As concerns saving the frigging planet, during the Little Ice Age we were down to about .02 percent carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. At that level, some plant species become extinct. Some scientists say that we need to get up to about .06 or .08 percent atmospheric carbon dioxide to be ultimately beneficial to plants and animals. Right now, we are just shy of .04 percent. Clean the soot and junk out of your smoking cities, yes, but leave the CO² ALONE!