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Ford pausing F-150 Lighting electric truck production for six weeks

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posted on 4 months ago — updated on 1 second ago

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Full-size EV pickup's sales have slumped along with gas prices.

Ford will pause production of its F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck from Nov. 18 to Jan. 6, reports Reuters.

"We continue to adjust production for an optimal mix of sales growth and profitability," the automaker said in a statement to Reuters regarding the six-week production pause, which overlaps with a week in December when all Ford factories are closed for the holidays.

2022 Ford F-150 Lightning pre-production

Ford said this month that U.S. EV sales for its namesake brand were up 45% this year, and that Lightning sales had more than doubled to 7,100 trucks in the three months ending Sept. 30, Reuters noted, adding that this means the Lightning makes up a tiny 3.6% of total F-150 sales.

The production pause comes after Ford in April cut production to just one shift. The automaker also slowed production in 2023 rather than further lowering prices as demand for pricier Lightning variants dried up. Ford initially promised that the Lightning would cost around $40,000 but, even with a few price cuts, prices remained much higher than that throughout 2023.

2022 Ford F-150 Lightning pre-production

Prices continued to fluctuate into 2024, with Ford cutting the sticker price of certain versions by up to $5,500 this past April—the same month as the most recent production cut. Those changes only affected models in the middle of the lineup, with prices for both the base F-150 Lightning Pro Standard Range and the range-topping Platinum Extended Range unchanged.

Ford has been resetting its EV plans. In August, the automaker said it was nixing a three-row electric SUV, adding an electric midsize pickup, and pushing back the launch of the Lightning's replacement from 2025 to 2027. More hybrids are also part of this plan, particularly in bigger segments where battery costs could make all-electric models less profitable.

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