For some time, the automotive and business press have reported that Ford has been considering ceasing production of its F-150 Lightning electric truck line. [emphasis, links added]
Here at AT, we’ve been following that story. Ford has been losing billions on its EVs, and as much as $130,000 on each one sold—there haven’t been many.
With the end of the $ 7,500 federal EV tax credit at the end of September, the EV doom loop has nearly closed, and with the federal government no longer pressuring manufacturers to produce and consumers to buy EVs, the bottom has fallen out of the market.
Now, Ford, to the sure relief of its shareholders, has made it official:
Ford is scrapping the all-electric version of America’s favorite car.
The F-150 Lightning will stop rolling out of the automaker’s Dearborn, Michigan, factory — marking a major retreat from Ford’s most ambitious EV bet.
The decision comes as Ford disclosed a staggering $19.5 billion loss in its consumer EV business, including $8.5 billion tied to canceled future models and another $6 billion from a scrapped deal with a battery supplier.
I was born without the math gene, but let’s see: 19.5 plus 8.5—that’s 28, plus 6—that’s 34…$34 billion lost on the Lightning and related costs?!
How do you lose that kind of money, to say nothing of dealer and customer goodwill and trust, and stay in business? Or maybe Ford isn’t a for-profit company? CEO Jim Farley has certainly been acting as though that were the case.
Another major reason for the Lightning’s demise is that when owners asked it to do truck things like tow or carry heavy loads or drive more than 100 miles without charging, the Lightning couldn’t deliver.
Cold weather dramatically reduced range and increased charging times, and Ford, with a straight face, told owners to use only the steering wheel and seat heaters in winter.
Ford did not bother to explain how that could keep windshields and windows clear of frost. It turned out there weren’t all that many people willing to pay as much as $90,000 for those pleasures.
Ford isn’t giving up, though, no sir:
Ford is now rethinking how it will electrify its best-selling pickup.
‘We now know enough about the US market where we have a lot more certainty in this second inning,’ Farley added.
Going forward, the full-size F-150 will be offered with three options under the hood: a gas-only engine, a mild hybrid, and an extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) that runs on electricity but uses an onboard gas generator on long trips.
Ford said the new version should retain the Lightning’s neck-snapping acceleration and deliver more than 700 miles of total range.
Well, yeah, maybe 700 miles with far more mechanical complexity, and only while running the gas generator.
Top photo shows then-President Biden test-driving an all-electric Ford F-150.
Read rest at American Thinker
