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Ford to halt production of F-150 Lightning EV pickup trucks for six weeks

2024.10.31 12:06

By David Shepardson

(Reuters) -Ford Motor will halt production of its F-150 Lightning electric vehicle pickup trucks for six weeks from Nov. 18 to Jan. 6, the Dearborn automaker said on Thursday.

Ford (NYSE:)’s U.S. plants are closed for a holiday week in December.

“We continue to adjust production for an optimal mix of sales growth and profitability,” a Ford spokesperson said.

Ford has been scaling back its EV plans, saying in August it was killing a planned three-row electric SUV and pushing back a new electric version of its best-selling F-150 pickup.

The company has instead thrown more investment into hybrid vehicles, which combine an electric motor with a gasoline engine.

Ford said this month its Ford-brand U.S. EV sales are up 45% this year and sales of F-150 Lightning more than doubled to 7,100 in the three months ending Sept. 30 – thought they still represent just 3.6% of all F-Series pickup sales.

The company in April cut production of the F-150 Lightning to one shift after it announced in October 2023 it would temporarily cut one of three shifts at its Michigan plant.

© Reuters. A model of the all-new Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickup is parked in front of the Ford Motor Company World Headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan, U.S., April 26, 2022. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/File Photo

CEO Jim Farley has said one of the main solutions to slowing EV sales growth is bringing production costs down. That is a key goal for the future health of the company, which is expected to lose about $5 billion on EVs this year alone.

Ford this week reported third-quarter net income of $900 million, or 22 cents per share, hurt by a $1 billion charge it took over the decision to cancel production of the three-row EV SUV in August.



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