Ford F-150 Lightning Trouble Deepens

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Ford only sold 2,258 F-150 Lightning pickups in January. It is the flagship of Ford’s EV efforts, a multi-billion push into the car industry’s next generation of vehicles. Ford has not just sold very few Lightnings. The launch has been plagued by pricing missteps and a fundamental lack of understanding about the market. Ford’s Lightning problems just worsened, but the source is unclear.

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CNN reported, “Ford stopped shipping its all-electric F-150 Lightning pickups and has been holding them for quality inspections since February 9.” The news outlet could not find out the reason. Ford did say this type of delay was not unusual. But why did it refuse to answer CNN’s questions about this situation? It should raise concerns.

Ford has backed off production of the Lightning, recently cutting output at one of its assembly facilities for the SUV by half. After committing to a $30 billion EV investment, Ford has pushed those expenditures well into the future. It admits that EV sales are much slower than expected, a problem Ford shares with much of the industry.

Like the world’s other colossal car companies, Ford will need to depend on gas-powered cars for longer-term revenue than expected. Toyota, the world’s most successful mainstream car company for the last decade, made the correct decision to place its mid-term bet on alternative engines on hybrids.

What no one outside Ford understands is how its market research and due diligence did not spot the problems that consumers have with EVs. Once sales got beyond early adopters, potential buyers balked at slow charging times, short ranges on one battery charge, and the time it takes to charge a battery.

What’s next for the F-150 Lightning? According to CNN, Ford won’t say.