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Ford
Manufacturing cuts are coming to the Ford F-150 Lightning. On Monday, Automotive Information reported that Ford’s suppliers have been advised by the automaker that from January it’s halving the manufacturing charge from 3,200 vans every week right down to 1,600 vans every week.
Ford debuted a totally electrical model of its best-selling F-150 pickup truck in 2022. You would be hard-pressed to inform the electrical F-150 Lightning from a gas- or diesel-burning F-150—bar some aerodynamic detailing right here and there all of them use the identical physique, and the EV hides its batteries neatly between the chassis rails.
That conservatism in design seemed to be a profitable technique with the pickup crowd. Ford’s order books had been flooded with over 200,000 reservations properly earlier than the truck hit the streets, spurring the automaker to announce final January that it will double its unique manufacturing plan and goal for an annual manufacturing charge of 150,000 vans a 12 months.
It most likely helped that the F-150 Lightning seemed to be keenly priced—a business mannequin with a smaller battery was meant to begin at $39,974 earlier than tax credit.
However issues did not fairly work out that approach. Ford’s EV division, referred to as Mannequin e, is not near being worthwhile but, and is probably not till 2026 on the earliest. Sensing sturdy demand, the automaker raised the Lightning’s costs, and even after a worth lower in July the most cost effective electrical F-150 nonetheless prices $49,995.
Add to {that a} string of tales this 12 months about overflowing EV inventories and a dearth of consumers, and the result’s a case of chilly toes.
Yesterday, (and truly in response to a question about Mustang Mach-E manufacturing), a Ford spokesperson advised Ars: “In November of this 12 months, we mentioned because the market and our prospects transition to EVs, we’ll steadiness quantity with demand whereas maintaining give attention to value. It isn’t solely about delivering a particular quantity by a particular date, it is about constructing a worthwhile, enduring enterprise with aggressive value construction.” After we adopted up with Ford concerning the F-150 Lightning manufacturing lower, it advised us that “we’ll proceed to match Lightning manufacturing to buyer demand”
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