Report: Ford Slashing F-150 Lightning Production By Half
Ford has seen more ups and downs with the F-150 Lightning than with almost any other product in recent memory. The automaker struggled to keep pace with early demand and even had to temporarily shutter production to deal with battery issues before announcing a ramp-up to push more trucks to market. Now, it appears the Blue Oval is pumping the brakes on that expansion, as Automotive News reported a recent memo to suppliers previews a somewhat slower year ahead.
The report states that Ford will cut Lightning production in half for 2024 due to “changing market demand.” Instead of the projected 3,200 units per week and 150,000-unit annual goal, the automaker now expects the average volume to land around 1,600 units per week. At the same time, the company said gas pickup volume is expected to remain steady.
Ford has recorded steep losses in its EV division and recently announced that it is postponing a multi-billion-dollar battery production facility in Kentucky. It is also cutting Mustang Mach-E production and delaying other planned EV investments.
Electric vehicle sales continue to grow despite the perception among some groups that consumers are running away. That said, Ford CFO John Lawler admitted that the growth is slower than the industry as a whole and noted that the EV business has been more challenging than the automaker expected.
[Image: Ford]
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Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.
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Just wondering: Do Ford’s or GM’s CEOs land re-usable rockets on moving barges, or sleep on the factory floor to resolve production issues? Would they be able to distinguish a volt, from an amp, from a watt-hour, from a banana?
1600 cars/week. That s 1 shift @ 40 jobs/hr. Thats coasting/doing nothing rate for an assembly plant. That is real painful.
Meanwhile Dodge and Ram lead in the number of days of unsold inventory.
Ram 2500 784 days inventory; 1,600 available for sale; 92 sold in 45 days
Dodge Hornet 517 days inventory; 10,781 available for sale, 939 sold in 45 days
Dodge Charger 424 days inventory; 33,463 available for sale, 3,549 sold in 45 days
Dodge Challenger 363 days inventory; 25,807 available for sale; 3,205 sold in 45 days
(Source Car Edge Dec 5, 2023)
Might be good that Stellantis discontinued the Charger and Challenger since they have at least a year's supply of unsold inventory.
Looks like Lightning is 8 percent of November F Series volume and 3 percent for all of 23. This production level would take it to 10 percent plus for 24. If you believe the future EV goals have any validity this isn't bad but would need to ramp up. Lightning also sold 70 percent of Lincoln's entire volume in November. Lincoln is near deathwatch status selling a miserable 72000 SUVs through November lol.