Ford announced on Monday that it will discontinue production of its flagship full-size electric pickup, the F-150 Lightning, as it shifts its focus to hybrid models.
Speaking with CNBC, Ford‘s CEO Jim Farley highlighted that despite year over year sales being flat, “hybrid sales were up 20%.”
In November, the company saw its overall US sales drop 0.9% to 164,925 units. Hybrid sales rose 13.6% to 16,301 vehicles, while fully electric plunged by 60.8% to 4,247.
Production has been suspended since October, when a fire at one of the aluminium suppliers forced to hal operations.
“The last couple of months have been really clear to us,” Farley said, noting that “the EV market shrank about 5% in the US.”
Ford‘s electric vehicle sales dropped by nearly 25% year over year in October and plunged 61% in November — as the $7,500 federal EV tax credit expired on September 30.
However, Farley highlighted that “more importantly, the very high-end EVs, the $50,000, $70,000, $80,000 vehicles, they just weren’t selling.”
Competitors
The F-150 Lightning is priced between $57,375 and $87,590, depending on the configuration.
It competed in the segment of Chevrolet’s electric Silverado, priced from $55,895, and Rivian’s R1T pickup, for which the starting price is $72,990.
Tesla’s Cybertruck, which featured a Standard Rear-Wheel Drive version beginning at $69,990 up until recently, is priced from $79,990.
The cheaper All-Wheel Drive version now comes with the Luxe Package, which includes free Supercharging, the Full Self-Driving (Supervised) software, and other features.
In the third quarter, sales of electric pick-up trucks rose in the US, driven by the EV sales surge ahead of the tax credit deadline.
The Ford F-150 Lightning achieved a 2.2% share of the total US vehicle market in the third quarter.
F-150 Production Halt
In October, the Detroit automaker halted production of the fully electric version in Michigan, citing consequences from a fire in a plant of its aluminum supplier Novelis.
To reduce the impact on US supply chains, Novelis said that it was relying on its overseas factories in Europe, Brazil, and South Korea.
However, due to the US tariffs on aluminium imports, automakers were forced to look for other solutions.
By then, Ford said it would be focusing on hybrid and internal combustion engine versions of the F-150 instead.
Late last month, another fire at the same plant further undermined the production of the F-150, culminating in the decision announced this Monday.
Ford EV Platform
In August, Ford unveiled its Universal EV Platform, according to which it will invest “approximately $5 billion.”
The company is targeting the launch of an upcoming midsize electric truck in 2027, priced around $30,000.
Ford aims for its EV unit ‘Model e’ to be profitable by 2029, with annual improvements starting in 2026.
However, that will involve about $19.5 billion in one-time charges, mostly in the fourth quarter of 2025, with the rest in 2026 and 2027.
Of this, roughly $5.5 billion will be actual cash payments, primarily in 2026, Ford stated on Monday.
Questioned about the double-digit charges, the CEO highlighted that “the non-cash is the biggest part of it,” while “the return on that $5.5 billion [cash charges] looks fantastic.”
“These are affordable trucks and vans. They’re in the heart of what Ford knows how to do,” Farley added. “They’ll be hybrid and EREVs [extended-range electric vehicles], very profitable vehicles.”
