The first two months of 2024 indicate that it will be a very challenging year for many EV manufacturers and Ford is one of them.
According to Automotive News, Ford halted shipments of the 2024 Ford F-150 Lightning model over an undisclosed quality issue. The stop-ship order went into effect on February 9 and there is no info on when it will be lifted.
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Ford F-150 Lightning sales
In 2023, Ford sold in the U.S. more than 24,000 F-150 Lightning all-electric pickups (55% more than in 2022). However, the results are worse than anticipated and prompted production reductions.
The 2024 model year Lightning is not an exception, as a similar stop-ship order concerns the 2024 Ford F-150 with an internal combustion engine. In the case of the ICE version, the issue started in December 2023 and lasted for several weeks (shipments to dealers finally started several days ago). Because of that, “hundreds, if not thousands, of trucks have piled up,” awaiting some additional quality checks.
We don’t know how serious the situation is with the Ford F-150 Lightning, but we do know that Ford announced an intention to improve vehicle quality and avoid recalls.
Production of the Ford F-150 Lightning at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan continues, although at a reduced rate “to achieve the optimal balance of production, sales growth and profitability.” As we understand, demand for the electric F-150, at the current pricing turned out to be lower than anticipated. In 2023, Ford sold over 24,000 F-150 Lightning, while in January sales amounted to 2,258 (on par with January 2023).
Ford also applied changes to the pricing of the 2024 F-150 Lightning, increasing prices of all versions aside from the top-of-the-line Platinum trims. At the same time, the company sells the existing inventory of the 2023 Ford F-150 Lightnings with substantial discounts of up to $12,500.