Will the Japanese government buy F-150 trucks?
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is reportedly considering the introduction of F-150 trucks ahead of a meeting with President Donald Trump in late October.
- Ford Motor Co. executives are said to be in talks over the fate of its all-electric pickup truck.
- No decision has been made yet.
- Industry experts predict that many automakers will end production of various EVs due to the removal of federal tax incentives.
Ford Motor Co. leaders are reportedly “in active discussions” about the future of the F-150 Lightning, an all-electric pickup truck, and if they decide to retire it, the Lightning would be the company’s first electric truck.
Industry officials say the move has been long expected as sales of the car have been lower than expected.
“There’s nothing definitive[about the cancellation],” said Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions. “But when you look at the numbers, you can see that they can’t expect to get it back (in production) anytime soon.”
On October 23, Ford suspended production of the Lightning, which was assembled at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, due to an aluminum shortage after a fire destroyed part of the Novelis aluminum plant in New York. Novelis is a major supplier of aluminum used in Ford pickups and SUVs.
On October 23, Ford Chief Operating Officer Kumar Galhotra told reporters that the company also plans to suspend production of its profitable gasoline-powered F-150 pickup trucks at its Dearborn Truck Plant in Michigan this month due to aluminum shortages. When asked if Lightning’s production suspension would be permanent, Galhotra was vague.
“We are 100% focused on the F-150 and covering it as much as possible. The factory is right next to DTP, so we will restart the Lightning whenever we are ready,” Galhotra said on October 23.
A report in the Wall Street Journal on Nov. 6, citing unnamed sources, said the fate of the Lightning was being discussed within Ford, but no final decision had been made. The report also said, citing people familiar with the matter, that General Motors executives are also discussing discontinuing production of some electric trucks.
GM spokesman Kevin Kelly told the Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, on Nov. 6 that no changes to the automaker’s portfolio were being discussed. “The strategic realignment of our EV production capacity does not impact today’s retail portfolio of currently produced Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac EVs, and we expect these models to remain available to consumers in the future,” GM said in a government filing last month.
Stellantis, which makes Ram trucks, earlier this year scrapped plans to build an electric version of its full-size pickup.
Ford’s take on the Lightning
When asked about the fate of the Lightning and whether Ford is considering discontinuing the vehicle, Ford spokesman Dave Tovar told the Detroit Free Press on November 6, “We do not comment on speculation regarding future product plans.”
He added that the F-150 Lightning is the best-selling electric pickup truck in the United States.
“Right now, as we recover from the Novelis fire, we are focused on F-150 ICE and hybrid production,” Tovar said. “We have a sufficient inventory of F-150 Lightnings and plan to reopen the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center (REVC) at the appropriate time, but there is no exact date at this time.”
In the third quarter, Ford reported selling 10,005 Lightning units. This is a 39.7% increase year-over-year and a record for the company. Sales were largely helped by a rush by buyers to take advantage of the $7,500 federal tax credit when they could, as it expires at the end of September. Ford reported sales of 23,034 Lightning units from January through the end of the quarter, an increase of 1% from a year earlier.
By comparison, General Motors sold 3,940 Silverado EVs in the third quarter.
Tesla sold about 5,385 Cybertrucks in the quarter, according to estimates from Cox Automotive.
Advocate for EV reduction
Fiorani said most experts are waiting for automakers to start removing EVs from their lineups now that the federal tax incentives are gone. EV sales fell off a cliff across the industry in October, with no deep discounts to entice buyers. For the industry as a whole, U.S. EV sales fell from 98,289 in September to 74,897 in October, according to Reuters.
“We expected all manufacturers to reevaluate their EVs once the incentives were removed, because they would have to adjust the price by $7,500,” Fiorani said. “We have long maintained that EVs will disappear from the market.”
Fiorani said the Ford Lightning in particular qualifies for elimination because it doesn’t share parts with other Ford vehicles to justify manufacturing costs or gain economies of scale.
“On the other hand, GM’s EVs share parts with other vehicles, which lowers the cost per vehicle.
“Manufacturers need to decide whether it’s worth the time and money to keep it on the market,” Fiorani said. “The Silverado EV also hasn’t sold well, but it shares parts across five different nameplates.”
Free Press staff writer Jackie Charniga contributed to this article.
Jamie L. Lareau is senior auto writer for USA Today and covers Ford Motor Company for the Detroit Free Press. Contact Jamie: jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @Jalalean. To sign up automotive newsletter. become a subscriber.
