The Ford F-150 has been one of the best-selling cars in America for many years. However, sales of the Lighting electric variant are slightly below expectations.
American car giant Ford has announced a reduction in production of its F-150 Lightning model, an electric pickup truck. According to Ford, the move comes as a result of lower-than-expected interest in electric cars.
The company said it will switch to single-shift operations at its Michigan Rouge Electric Vehicle Center starting April 1. Already in October, Ford announced that it would temporarily reduce the number of shifts at the Michigan plant where the F-150 Lightning electric pickup is made, from the original three to two.
In a statement, Ford CEO Jim Farley emphasized that the company is using its manufacturing flexibility to offer a broader offering to customers while balancing growth and profitability.
The announcement comes at a time when demand for electric trucks is also falling. General Motors (GM) delayed the opening of its new $4 billion electric truck plant in Michigan by a year in October.
Ford informed its suppliers in December that it plans to produce about 1,600 F-150 Lightning electric trucks per week starting in January, half of the originally planned 3,200 vehicles.
Last year, Ford sold 24,165 F-150 Lightnings in the U.S., a 55% increase over 2022. But that’s still pretty marginal, with total F-150 sales expected to reach around 750,000 in 2023.
Ford said the reduction in production capacity will affect about 1,400 workers. About 700 of them will be moved to a secondary assembly plant, while others will be placed in roles at the Rouge complex or other facilities in Michigan, or take advantage of a special retirement program. Another impact will be on several dozen employees at factories that produce sub-components for the F-150 Lightning.
The changes to the production volume of the F-150 Lightning come as automakers in Detroit protest the Biden administration’s proposals to introduce emissions standards that would see 67% of all new vehicles powered by pure electricity by 2032.
Former President Donald Trump, who is seeking a return to the White House, has vowed to roll back electric mobility rules put in place by the Biden administration, while the White House is encouraging significant investment in batteries by automakers, along with government funding for new charging stations.
The automaker expects global electric car sales to continue growing in 2024, albeit to a lesser extent than originally anticipated. Ford estimated that in the third quarter of 2023 it lost approximately $36,000 on each of the 36,000 electric cars it delivered to dealers.
As early as last October, Ford announced it would slow the ramp-up of loss-making electric models and instead focus on investing in its commercial vehicle division and plans to quadruple hybrid sales over the next five years. In the last year, traditional car manufacturers have focused more on hybrid models, as customers prefer them to pure electric models.
2024-01-23 17:53:00
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