Ford shutting down Lightning production for two months

[Roland]

Quote

Ford is halting F-150 Lightning production in mid-November as the once best-selling electric pickup faces a wave of new competition. The company will stop building models at its Rouge EV center in Michigan for nearly two months.

https://electrek.co/2024/10/31/ford-shut-down-f-150-lightning-production-nearly-two-months/

[Rick73]

“Slower-than-expected” demand, beyond general soft BEV sales?  The hybrid F-150 combined with cheap gas makes a more compelling argument in my opinion for loyal Ford buyers, though that doesn’t explain Cybertruck outselling Lightning by over 2:1 last quarter.  I expect many buyers who just wanted a Lightning for whatever reason already got one.  Hard to see how original estimated demand and growth rate were so off except that BEV pickups are a poor fit for most buyers.  IIRC rperez817 mentioned many early Lighting buyers came from other brands and were not traditional loyal truck buyers, and now they have more choices.  That explains part of it I suppose.

[Sherminator98]

8 minutes ago, Rick73 said:

though that doesn’t explain Cybertruck outselling Lightning by over 2:1 last quarter. 

 

You really are obtuse, aren't you....

[Deanh]

21 minutes ago, Rick73 said:

“Slower-than-expected” demand, beyond general soft BEV sales?  The hybrid F-150 combined with cheap gas makes a more compelling argument in my opinion for loyal Ford buyers, though that doesn’t explain Cybertruck outselling Lightning by over 2:1 last quarter.  I expect many buyers who just wanted a Lightning for whatever reason already got one.  Hard to see how original estimated demand and growth rate were so off except that BEV pickups are a poor fit for most buyers.  IIRC rperez817 mentioned many early Lighting buyers came from other brands and were not traditional loyal truck buyers, and now they have more choices.  That explains part of it I suppose.

model year change effected sales numbers for the Lightning...that said its not setting the world on fire sales wise....neither is the  origami truck

[Rick73]

5 hours ago, Deanh said:

model year change effected sales numbers for the Lightning...that said its not setting the world on fire sales wise....neither is the  origami truck

Were inventories so low that it limited sales, or was demand just that low?  Reports suggest it’s more of a demand problem.  CT looks odd (some say hideous) which makes other trucks appear that much weaker in sales by comparison.  The underlying issue IMO is that BEV pickup trucks are not functionally great at this point for most buyers, and buyers who see them as “must have” vehicles are few in number.  CNBC report below and similar seem more objective.  Electrek is often biased towards electrification as should be expected.

 

 

DETROIT — Ford Motor plans to halt production of its all-electric F-150 Lightning from mid-November until early next year to address bloated inventories and narrow losses on the pickup trucks.

 

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/10/31/ford-to-halt-production-of-electric-f-150-lightning-until-2025.html

 

 

[Sherminator98]

15 hours ago, Rick73 said:

 The underlying issue IMO is that BEV pickup trucks are not functionally great at this point for most buyers, and buyers who see them as “must have” vehicles are few in number.

 

But your completely ignoring the fact that pickups are the biggest market segment in North America.

 

There are lots of other reasons why they aren't selling...like everything else costing so much more and financing rates. 

[akirby]

2 hours ago, silvrsvt said:

 

But your completely ignoring the fact that pickups are the biggest market segment in North America.

 

There are lots of other reasons why they aren't selling...like everything else costing so much more and financing rates. 

Super high efficiency is not a concern for full size truck buyers. They want the room and the versatility.  Price is the biggest impediment right now.

[jpd80]

 

On 11/2/2024 at 2:07 AM, Deanh said:

model year change effected sales numbers for the Lightning...that said its not setting the world on fire sales wise....neither is the  origami truck

There’s an ex dealer and his son posting on YouTube claiming that Ford is offering dealers

$1,500 per Lightning to sell them or up to $22,500 for Lightnings to sell……

Im wondering if you have heard this or is it more likely to be a regional thing or maybe just spin?

 

 

If this is true, then no wonder Ford closed down production for a couple of months,

stopping Lightning production over the northern winter seems to make sense

especially if sales are slowing……

 

Dont know what to make of CT but seems like a giant fad machine  that people 

were interested in when it started at sub $40,000 but once it was time to order

a way more expensive price, very few seem to be following through….

Edited November 3, 2024 by jpd80

[Rick73]

10 hours ago, jpd80 said:

Dont know what to make of CT but seems like a giant fad machine  that people 

were interested in when it started at sub $40,000 but once it was time to order

a way more expensive price, very few seem to be following through….

While bike riding yesterday I saw a Cybertruck in my neighborhood for the first time and got a good look at it mixed in traffic.  To me the design looks like it was primarily intended to draw attention; I see no other explanation.  Musk once said he wanted it to look like the future, and it does look like it would fit right in a Mad Max movie; which isn’t necessarily a good thing long term.  Don’t know if it will be a short-lived fad or a trend setter because such a large percentage of population today crave attention; though given high cost and lack of inherent functionality it’s hard to imagine it will do well long term, or after initial surge in demand is met.  Lightning has similar issue with cost and function IMO, though appearance is not polarizing like that of Cybertruck.

[ice-capades]

11 hours ago, jpd80 said:

 

There’s an ex dealer and his son posting on YouTube claiming that Ford is offering dealers

$1,500 per Lightning to sell them or up to $22,500 for Lightnings to sell……

Im wondering if you have heard this or is it more likely to be a regional thing or maybe just spin?

 

 

If this is true, then no wonder Ford closed down production for a couple of months,

stopping Lightning production over the northern winter seems to make sense

especially if sales are slowing……

 

Dont know what to make of CT but seems like a giant fad machine  that people 

were interested in when it started at sub $40,000 but once it was time to order

a way more expensive price, very few seem to be following through….

 

It's a real Ford program with a total of $22,500 in incentives for up to 15 2024 F-150 Lightnings acquired through Ford Replenishment Centers.

https://fordauthority.com/2024/10/2024-ford-f-150-lightning-program-will-pay-dealers-to-use-replenishment-centers/