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Ford announced Thursday that it will pause production of the electric F-150 Lightning for several weeks due to weak consumer demand for EVs.
Automakers plan to idle cars rouge electric car factoryis based in suburban Detroit and has been building F-150 Lightnings since the end of its shift Nov. 15. Production will resume on January 6th.
The plant is currently operating on weekdays and, like Ford's other U.S. plants, has already scheduled a holiday week starting Dec. 23.
A Ford spokesperson said of the move, “We continue to adjust production to achieve the optimal combination of sales growth and profitability.”
Ford has scaled back its EV push over the past year, announcing in August that it was canceling a planned three-row electric SUV and delaying the release of a new electric version of its best-selling F-150 pickup.
Ford cancels plans for electric three-row SUV
Ford announced that it will temporarily halt production of the F-150 Lightning as it adjusts production to meet consumer demand. (Jeff Kowalski/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
The company recently chose to invest more in hybrid vehicles rather than EVs, as its EV division suffered significant losses due to weak consumer demand.
| ticker | safety | last | change | change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | ford motor corporation | 10.61 | +0.24 |
+2.31% |
Ford said earlier this month that EV sales in the U.S. will increase by 45% this year. F-150 Lightning EV Pickup Despite accounting for only 3.6% of total F-Series pickup sales, sales more than doubled to 7,100 units in the three months ended September 30th.
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Ford's EV division has lost billions of dollars in recent years. (Matt Cardy/Getty Images/Getty Images)
CEO Jim Farley says one of the key solutions to improving EV sales is to production cost That's an important goal for the company, considering it expects to lose about $5 billion in EV-related expenses this year. Ford is one of the few automakers to publicly announce EV sales separately.
Other major U.S. automakers are facing similar growing pains with their EV plans.
of The Wall Street Journal reported GM has postponed plans for a new Buick EV model and a battery manufacturing plant, and says it expects its EV business to be in the red next year.
US automakers including Ford are struggling to stimulate demand for EVs. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Automakers' profit margins in the EV space have also been squeezed in the past year by a price war with Tesla, which briefly cut prices several times to stimulate consumer demand.
us car manufacturer They also face the threat of future competition from low-cost EVs from China.
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Although not currently sold in the United States and facing trade barriers, president biden It imposed a 100% tariff on Chinese EVs, and former President Trump said he would raise the tariff to 200%. Farley called the potential entry of EVs into the U.S. market an “existential threat.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
