Ford plans to close the Michigan plant that produces its pickup truck plug-in F-150 Lightning, the signature electric vehicle in its lineup, by the end of the year. The reason is the decrease in demand for electric vehicles.
The decision is the latest blow to the car model that has been a centerpiece of Ford’s electric vehicle strategy and which CEO Jim Farley said would be “a test case for the adoption of electric automobiles.” The automaker will begin a seven-week shutdown in mid-November of the Dearborn plant, visited by President Joe Biden in 2021, who drove a Lightning and declared “this thing is fast.”
“We continue to adjust production to achieve an optimal combination of sales growth and profitability,” Ford said Thursday in a statement.
While Lightning sales are up this year, they fall far short of Ford’s ambitious expectations as many conventional car buyers shun electric vehicles due to high prices and spotty charging infrastructure. Ford began the year by cutting Lightning production in half and reducing the factory to one shift of workers, while ramping up production of gasoline-powered vehicles such as the Bronco sport utility vehicle.
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Ford stopped shipping Lightnings in February due to an unspecified quality issue. It then decided to cut the price of the electric pickup truck in order to stimulate sales.
Farley talked about the “slow uptake of EVs” during Ford’s third-quarter earnings call with analysts on Oct. 28 and predicted that Ford would lose $5 billion this year on its battery-powered models. Ford shares fell as the company lowered its profit guidance and said it continues to face high warranty costs to repair quality problems in its models.
The automaker is scrambling to develop a new line of compact electric vehicles priced under $30,000, and in August it canceled plans to launch a three-row electric SUV. Ford said it will launch a small electric pickup truck in 2027, which is being designed by a team of prototypers in California led by a former Tesla executive.
“We are already on our second generation of electric vehicles – they will be launched within the next two years,” Farley told analysts on the earnings call. “We will reduce short-term losses on our first-generation products and prepare to be a global competitor in the long term.”
Lightning production is scheduled to resume on Jan. 6, Ford said. Automotive News previously reported that the Lightning factory was idle.
