“Changing Market Demand”: Ford Slashes Production Plans For Electric F-150 In Half

It’s only been a year since Ford Motors announced that it would be ramping up production of the all-electric F-50 Lightning, its contribution to the electric truck market. However, though it has hardly been a long time since it announced that decision, Ford is already slashing production plans for the truck in half, beginning as soon as early 2024.

As background, many electric vehicle producers have had to roll back some of their more expansive plans, as declining consumer interest, decreasing economic prospects for prospective customers, the high cost of capital, and other issues, such as continuing problems with range and battery life, lead to far fewer sales than they anticipated.

So, in response to that consumer sentiment issue, Ford now plans to produce just 1,600 Ford F-150 Lightnings a week at its Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan. That plant, which assembles all of Ford’s electric pickup trucks, had previously announced that it would produce 3.200 of the EV trucks a week.

Automotive News obtained a copy of the memo that Ford sent out about the planned production cuts. Reporting on the memo, that outlet said that the EV production cuts are in the pipeline thanks to “changing market demand” surrounding electric vehicles. Ford, for its part, told CNBC that it plans to “continue to match production with customer demand.

The move to cut production comes after Ford invested massive amounts in electric vehicle production, but chose to forgo spending more on that sort of product recently. In fact, it recently announced that it would be postponing about $12 billion in electric vehicle manufacturing capacity investments.

Speaking on the matter, Ford CFO John Lawler said, “We’re not moving away from our second generation [EV] products. We are, though, looking at the pace of capacity that we’re putting in place. We are going to push out some of that investment.”

Continuing, CFO Lawler added that its plans would be determined by how many of the electric vehicles customers want to purchase, saying, “The customer is going to decide what the volumes are. Ford is able to balance production of gas, hybrid and electric vehicles to match the speed of EV adoption in a way that others can’t.”

Ford has so far sold about 20,000 of the F-150 Lightnings. While up about 54 percent from 2022, that number is hardly indicative of it needing to ramp capacity up to 3,500 a week, as was the original plan. Further, the sales increase was buoyed by its decision to slash the EV truck’s price by $10,000 over the summer of 2023.

While that increased consumer interest by making the most affordable version of the truck cost about $50,000, a SuperCrew version of the combustion engine-powered F-150 costs about $10,000 less than that at its normal price, and has a longer effective range, faster fill up time, and more proven track record, making it far more desirable to many truck purchasers. Further, with inflation remaining a persistent problem and fixed costs to pay for, how long Ford can suppress prices to increase interest is unclear.

Related Posts

BREAKING: Karmelo Anthony Indicted for Murder of Austin Metcalf 🚨

BREAKING: Karmelo Anthony Indicted for Murder of Austin Metcalf 🚨

BREAKING: Karmelo Anthony Indicted for Murder of Austin Metcalf 🚨 An 18-year-old Texas athlete, Karmelo Anthony, has been indicted by a Collin County grand jury for the…

BREAKING / At least SIX U.S. B-2 Stealth Bombers are now over the Pacific Ocean

BREAKING / At least SIX U.S. B-2 Stealth Bombers are now over the Pacific Ocean

🚨 BREAKING: At least SIX U.S. B-2 Stealth Bombers are now over the Pacific Ocean, to be positioned within striking distance of Iran They took off overnight…

Democrat Governor Kathy Hochul Announcement about ILLEGAL aliens Shocks Nation

Democrat Governor Kathy Hochul Announcement about ILLEGAL aliens Shocks Nation

HAPPENING NOW: Democrat Governor Kathy Hochul announces she will be using $50 million to fund lawyers for ILLEGAL aliens, all using New Yorkers’ taxpayer dollars. BREAKING: Iran…

BREAKING NEWS / Clinton-appointed Judge Charles Breyer SHOCKS Nation

BREAKING NEWS / Clinton-appointed Judge Charles Breyer SHOCKS Nation

BREAKING: Clinton-appointed Judge Charles Breyer has ordered Trump to return control of the National Guard back to California. Gov. Newsom said “the National Guard will come back…

BREAKING NEWS / Chicago Mayor Shocks Nation !! Urges City To ‘Resist’ Looming Trump Immigration Crackdown

BREAKING NEWS / Chicago Mayor Shocks Nation !! Urges City To ‘Resist’ Looming Trump Immigration Crackdown

Democratic Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson urged city residents on Wednesday to “resist” the Trump administration as it escalates its immigration enforcement operations nationwide, according to the Chicago…

Beyond Disgustin – Mexican Senate President’s Last Minute Decision Has Americans Infuriated

BREAKING – Mexican Senate President Gerardo Fernández Noroña is now calling for Mexico to reclaim parts of the United States, citing an 1830 map, arguing that Mexicans…