Ford Motor CEO Jim Farley announced that the Ford F-150 Lightning achieved its best-ever sales performance in November.
He said the company sold nearly 4,400 electric trucks last month, an increase of more than 100% compared to last year and the best-ever monthly sales of the Ford F-150 Lightning.
It’s worth noting that Ford Lightning sales fell 46% in the third quarter. Ford sold 3,712 Lightning models in October, a 52.4% increase from 2022.
Ford said in September that F-150 Lightning production was picking up after a six-week shutdown. Ford believes it can triple production of its electric pickup trucks after it completes a revamp of its Rouge EV plant in Michigan.
Ford announced last month that it would “refocus and downsize some investments” including at its electric vehicle plant in Michigan. The plan calls for investment cuts of nearly $1.5 billion (Note: currently about 10.71 billion RMB) and is expected to reduce layoffs to 1,700 people.
In early February this year, Ford said it would create 2,500 new jobs and produce 35 GWh of LFP batteries per year starting in 2026 (which can power about 400,000 electric vehicles).
Ford now expects to produce about 20 GWh of LFP cells per year, which is more than 40% less than originally planned. The plant is expected to produce LFP batteries for about 230,000 electric vehicles per year.
Additionally, Ford has pushed back its goal of 600,000 electric vehicles until next summer, and the company has cut three shifts at its Rouge EV plant.
Ford chief communications officer Mark Truby said the decision was based on “the demand and expected growth of electric vehicles” and that Ford was cutting about $12 billion (currently about 85.68 billion RMB) in electric vehicles.
