Ford Cuts Back F-150 Lightning Electric Truck Production

Ford will shut down one of two production shifts in April at the Dearborn, Michigan, factory that builds the F-150 Lightning electric pickup.

Even with the tax credits, the price of the Lightning remains higher than the $34,000 base price of the gas-powered truck. I Photo: Ford

The move is part of "matching F-150 Lightning production to customer demand," the company said, as reported by Peter Valdes-Dapena and Chris Isidore for CNN.

General Motors (GM) recently made a similar announcement about its Chevrolet Silverado EV, stating it would postpone adding production facilities for the truck, which went into production last spring for corporate customers.

While sales of electric vehicles (EVs) increased in 2023, the growth was slower than many industry experts had expected. Ford still projects an increase in Lightning sales this year after a 55% jump to 24,000 trucks last year.

The company did not specify how many F-150 Lightnings it expects to sell this year. The 24,000 in Lightning sales is still a small fraction of overall Ford F-series pickup sales.

The F-series is Ford’s best-selling product line and has been the best-selling vehicle of any kind in the US for almost 50 years. Last year, Ford sold more than 750,000 F-series trucks.

The price of a Lightning starts at about $50,000 and is eligible for $7,500 in federal EV tax credits. Even with the tax credits, the price remains higher than the $34,000 base price of the gas-powered truck.

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