Ford Motor has announced a temporary suspension of production for its F-150 Lightning electric vehicle pickup trucks.
The Michigan factory where the vehicle is manufactured will be shut down for six weeks, starting 18 November this year and ending on 6 January next year, reported Bloomberg.
In a statement, the company said: βWe continue to adjust production for an optimal mix of sales growth and profitability.β
This month, Ford announced that its US EV sales under the Ford brand have risen by 45% this year, with F-150 Lightning sales more than doubling to 7,100 units in the three months ending September 30. However, this still accounts for only 3.6% of total F-Series pickup sales.
Ford has been reevaluating its electric vehicle strategies, having cancelled plans in August for a three-row electric SUV and postponed the launch of an electric version of its top-selling F-150 pickup.
The automaker is now focusing on increasing its investment in hybrid vehicles that combine an electric motor with a traditional gasoline engine, reported Reuters.
Earlier in April, Ford reduced the F-150 Lightning’s production to one shift. This followed an announcement in October 2023 that it would temporarily cut one of three shifts at its Michigan plant.
Ford CEO Jim Farley has emphasised the importance of reducing production costs as a solution to slowing EV sales growth, a critical goal for the company’s future viability, especially as it is projected to lose about $5bn on EVs this year.
This week, Ford reported a third-quarter net income of $900m, or 22 cents per share, impacted by a $1bn charge related to its decision to cancel production of the three-row electric SUV in August.
In a move to enhance efficiency and lower costs, CEO Jim Farley has informed employees that the company must accelerate efforts to improve quality, reported Reuters.
He has also linked manager bonuses to these metrics, which will be cut to 65% of their total. Farley introduced a new performance system that ties company bonuses directly to progress on key goals, reinforcing accountability.
“Ford to suspend production of F-150 Lightning EV pickup trucks for six weeks” was originally created and published by Just Auto, a GlobalData owned brand.
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