In a striking reversal from a 2022 plan to increase electric truck production to 150,000 units a year, Ford Motor Co. will slash 2024 Ford F-150 Lightning in half. The all-new truck sold out in its first model year, and at the time Ford said it had more than 200,000 reservations. But lack of infrastructure and cold-weather-range woeshave left EV sales lagging across the board in 2023.
According to an article by Automotive News, Ford has told suppliers to prepare for an average of 1,600 Lightnings a week starting in January – instead of the planned 3,200, which would have pushed the electric truck towards its 150k goal. We have to say we’re not surprised by this since 2023 Q3 sales of the truck rang in at 3,503. Total. No need to make 3,200 trucks a week, when you’re selling just more than that in a three-month period.
The truth about EV sales
While sensationalists would like to tell you that EV sales are drying up and that no one wants to buy EVs, that’s not completely true. For the first time, the U.S. has sold more than 1 million EVs in a single year. This year. And EVs have accounted for 7.5% of total U.S. sales through November.
So, more electric cars, trucks and SUVs are being sold than ever before. But it’s also true that EV sales are starting to plateau. As the Associated Press reports, this is more because early adopters have already bought their EVs and gas prices are falling. So, the crush to go electric isn’t dying, it’s just evening out.
What to expect for the 2024 Ford F-150 Lightning
While we will see a price hike for the 2024 Ford F-150 Lightning, we’ll also see a new Lightning Flash model, which will bundle the best tech the truck has to offer and price it at about $70k. Outside of that, since the vehicle was all-new for 2023, there aren’t many changes to be had.
Pricing for 2024, excluding destination, is as follows:
- F-150 Lightning Pro, standard range: $49,995
- F-150 Lightning XLT, standard range: $57,495
- F-150 Lightning Flash, extended range: $69,995
- F-150 Lightning Lariat, extended range: $77,495
- F-150 Lightning Platinum, extended range: $89,995
- F-150 Lightning Platinum Black, extended range: $97,995
The bottom line
We are in the nascent stages of EV adoption and infrastructure creation, so there will be growing pains. Automakers like General Motors are sticking to their guns about going all-electric, and it’s unlikely that we’ll see a complete retraction of electrification. A slow-down? Sure. But Ford has invested more than $950 million in the plant that builds the Lightning, so while the automaker may be slowing down, it’s certainly not giving up or backing down.
