Ford considers ending F-150 Lightning

[Vulnox]

I think you may have forgotten a "/s" for clarity ?

Yeah, as usual that was just a run on of poorly informed nonsense. Ford and others are losing money on their EV side of the business, but it's not because EVs aren't or can't be profitable. Ford has about 5 plants being either built completely new or retooled for EV construction. That is all very expensive and if they were doing similar on their ICE side you would see a huge hit to the Ford Blue side of the business.

People that say EVs aren't profitable show they just regurgitate talking points instead of understanding the business. Ford knew going in that EVs would be in a loss for a while because of all the redesigning, retooling, etc. It has nothing to do with EVs as a business model. It took Tesla over a decade to hit profitability despite being relatively popular, but they were constantly building new plants, expanding their service network, etc.

Can't even begin to tackle the not anti-EV or deregulation nonsense. Don't want to see the thread get locked. But yeah it's wild to see actual functional adults still believing that deregulation is a positive.

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[BlkGS]

Long time lurker, first time poster here.

Lightning was the right idea, poorly executed IMO. While maybe EV enthusiasts like the idea of having a truck that's clearly an EV, moderate people like me don't, we just want a truck. Where Ford really messed up was the packaging. Lightning still visually looks like a 2015-2020 F150 inside and out. That makes it 2-3 generations old visually. Furthermore, if you wanted a "nice" truck with cooled seats, the big moonroof, all that, you were stuck with the stupid vertical screen that looks ancient compared to the nice horizontal one in the newer trucks and more basic Lightnings.

Ford should have offered lightning as a powertrain option on F150 and made it otherwise identical. Same exterior, same interior, you just get a drunk and an EV powertrain. BMW has done this with its i4, i5, etc lineup and it works AWESOME.

Ford should discontinue Lightning as a model, and fold it under the regular F150.

What Ford really needs to do is abandoned the T3 program. What REALLY makes no sense is a EV specific platform for the truck. Ask GM how well those $90k Silverado EVs are selling. It's a total failure, because the EV platform is too expensive to compete and the benefits aren't compelling enough for regular people.

The EV truck landscape is likely about to change a lot with the Ram EREV, which will have all the benefits of an EV for day to day use, but the generator giving it the range and refueling ease of a gas truck. I don't expect many pure BEVs to survive that.

 

[Mcgyverrod]

I sing praises when people ask me about my truck. Highlight the advantages and disadvantages compared to the competition and most will agree that the Lightning is the best value/experience/capacity/capability. It would be sad if Fairley crumbled to the bean counters and discontinued their most capable vehicle, in my opinion, because they didn't invest in both R&D *and* marketing resulting in less then stellar sales figures.

Like everyone else, I love my Lightning and would never return to an ICE pickup.

That’s too bad. I have never owned a ford or a truck before, first time buyer and really impressed with the truck. I hope when and if the next gen truck comes out, it is as good.

Like everyone else, I love my Lightning and would never return to an ICE pickup. My 2023EV has been trouble-free and very efficient, coupled with my Solar system. Price of fuel for ICE is just making my pay-back happen sooner. This will be my last truck!

 

[lipnorth]

I was at the Ford dealer that I bought my Lightning from the last two days because I bought my son a used Mustang Mach-E that’s also a sweet car.

I saw the article that they are considering killing Lightning . The dealership thought it sucked, but they said that the demand has been very low. The owner of the dealership owns a Lightning and thinks it’s amazing, so he’s a believer.

IMO, the target market for an electric F-150 is flawed. Long-time pickup drivers tend to not believe in electric (at least with people I know), and worse, they might even be more MAGA-leaning. Combine that with our current government’s rhetoric, the loss of rebates, and their unrelenting push to kill electric and push into coal and fossil fuel, it’s no wonder pickup truck drivers are loathe to switch.

I, on the other hand, love my Lightning. And everywhere I go, when I open up the front, people come up to me asking questions and are in amazement.

 

[Athrun88]

BTW, if Ford is hearing and seeing all this, I did purchase my Lightning as my 'forever' vehicle; however, I could be persuaded to upgrade if a Raptor or Tremor version of the Lightning came out *wink wink*. Either that or a EV Expedition could be my retirement gift to myself. Just saying.

 

[kuzzin]

2023 Pro SR 22 months 33k miles . 90% of all my vehicles have been Ford Trucks. This is easily the best one ever. Have taken one 2200 mile trip and five 600 mile trips. I tow heavy loads regularly with very little loss of range because little extra drag. Twice I have towed tall wide loads and dropped to 1.1 to 1.4 miles per kwh.

Suffered through two failed GSMs but the latest one is the new part number.

Folks are still regularly shocked when I load and unload cargo from the frunk. So many of them never knew Ford made BEVs.

My guess/hope is that Ford will do exactly as they said. Restart production when the time is right, I infer when they need inventory.

 

[proprepper]

I Still show up... 2 or 3 days a week and do nothing...so, yes done with work!!!! Just hanging around for the free charging!!!!!

 

[kugel]

They should really release the truck in EU (no, Norway and Switzerland does not count). With electric drivetrain the taxes are cut close to 0% and you don't have to register one as a truck with 80km/h limit. Perfect family vehicle as 5 seater with plenty of space for everything you need to bring with you.

 

[EV Engineer]

I love my truck. I mean I LOVE it. But I researched it for 3 months.
I would only recommend it to a handful of people.

I think ford played their part perfectly. Built on a F150 platform. Shared costs with the 500,000 gas models they produce. There will be plenty of parts around for decades from a shell point of view. IF the EV guts are as good as the industry says we all should have minimal issues moving forward and I see no reason these vehicles won't make 15-20years.

I would imagine the new platform is going 800V so the lightning only had 18-24months or so anyways before it was truly just obsolete as a new purchase. The charging times are going to be cut in half.



The reality with EV's (not just trucks) is America makes the wrong size vehicles. 800 volt charge helps but the real benefit comes from increasing miles / kWh. Expeditions and F150's are just never going to be efficient. Model 3, IONIQ 9 style vehicles are the answer.

A ranger sized truck that tow's 6000lbs and maybe even 2wheel drive could probably get 2.8-3 kWH hour. But ranger is a low volume unit.

Again I think Ford played this very well. Demand was underwhelming. The next generation is coming.

I don't worry about repairs for my F150 EV. Most parts are shared with millions of trucks.

I would worry a lot about Silverado / Cyber truck / Rivian (Built on unique platforms).

 

[BlkGS]

I think a lot of people are making it political when it really isn't. The truck works for some, and doesn't for others. It's what some people want, and not what others want.

It has to be something that you both want, and can justify the cost for. Apparently Ford didn't hit that mark for as many people as they thought they would. Ford can't blame anyone but themselves for that, either from an expectations perspective, or a product planning perspective.

Personally I don't think the Lightning is dead. I think Ford is just going to prioritize the gas trucks that sell in higher volume while Lightning is sitting with a lot of inventory on lots. I'm sure they'll start production back up once everything supply chain wise works out, and it'll sell better than all the other EV trucks still, yet people will still call it a flop because it didn't outsell the gas trucks (it was never going to and will never outsell the gas trucks).

I hope when they do they refresh the L to have the current F150 exterior and interior.

 

[BlkGS]

I would worry a lot about Silverado / Cyber truck / Rivian (Built on unique platforms).

Agreed. Those 3 are doomed. If Ford does in fact go unique platform for the next Lightning, they can consider themselves doomed too.

The best thing Ford could do right now is kill the T3 program immediately, and divert all those resources to a next gen Lightning powertrain on regular F150, with an EREV option. Maybe even do something really smart and make the generator a diesel, or buy/partner on the generator motor from a company that specializes in generator motors.

 

[Deleted member 22838]

I was at the Ford dealer that I bought my Lightning from the last two days because I bought my son a used Mustang Mach-E that’s also a sweet car.

I saw the article that they are considering killing Lightning . The dealership thought it sucked, but they said that the demand has been very low. The owner of the dealership owns a Lightning and thinks it’s amazing, so he’s a believer.

IMO, the target market for an electric F-150 is flawed. Long-time pickup drivers tend to not believe in electric (at least with people I know), and worse, they might even be more MAGA-leaning. Combine that with our current government’s rhetoric, the loss of rebates, and their unrelenting push to kill electric and push into coal and fossil fuel, it’s no wonder pickup truck drivers are loathe to switch.

I, on the other hand, love my Lightning. And everywhere I go, when I open up the front, people come up to me asking questions and are in amazement.

I totally agree with you, this vehicle is awesome.

 

[Deleted member 22838]

I love my truck. I mean I LOVE it. But I researched it for 3 months.
I would only recommend it to a handful of people.

I think ford played their part perfectly. Built on a F150 platform. Shared costs with the 500,000 gas models they produce. There will be plenty of parts around for decades from a shell point of view. IF the EV guts are as good as the industry says we all should have minimal issues moving forward and I see no reason these vehicles won't make 15-20years.

I would imagine the new platform is going 800V so the lightning only had 18-24months or so anyways before it was truly just obsolete as a new purchase. The charging times are going to be cut in half.



The reality with EV's (not just trucks) is America makes the wrong size vehicles. 800 volt charge helps but the real benefit comes from increasing miles / kWh. Expeditions and F150's are just never going to be efficient. Model 3, IONIQ 9 style vehicles are the answer.

A ranger sized truck that tow's 6000lbs and maybe even 2wheel drive could probably get 2.8-3 kWH hour. But ranger is a low volume unit.

Again I think Ford played this very well. Demand was underwhelming. The next generation is coming.

I don't worry about repairs for my F150 EV. Most parts are shared with millions of trucks.

I would worry a lot about Silverado / Cyber truck / Rivian (Built on unique platforms).

Had a Silverado EV RST, not even close in ride quality. The Lightning is allot better.

 

[rbott]

I find it odd that they'd cancel the truck the same week they announce the Ford Home Power Management System, which allows you to use the Lightning as your home's main power source during peak cost hours.



The truck in its current form was almost surely going to be replaced by something coming out of the new UEV platform, so that isn't surprising. The WSJ article was light on details, and technically, if even one Ford "executive" suggested this, then the article is technically true. I just don't know how much support that idea has inside of Ford. FWIW, Jim Farley's daily driver is a Lightning (he said so on a semi-recent podcast).

I personally hope it's not cancelled. This is my first pickup truck (always wanted one!), and it's my favorite vehicle of all that I've owned. I don't think I'd go back to an ICE or even a hybrid vehicle; the performance and convenience of the EV is just too good to give up.

 

[chl]

So...what was all that commotion about the new plant in Kentucky?

So, 'scrap' the Lightning may just be an attention grabbing headline, and really only means they will switch to building smaller EV pickups, in the Ranger 'class' which would work for me - I drove an 4.0L ICE Ranger from 2001-2024 when I got the Lightning.

They will have to compete with Slate and if the tariffs fall, which seems likely from the SCOTUS oral argument the other day, there could be Chinese EV trucks to content with.

The tariffs falling would be an economic boost for Ford and other US manufacturers since it was putting a big hit on profits.

I don't agree that US consumers aren't ready for EVs, they are, but the infrastructure needs to be there to support them, which holds people back from the purchase.

Eliminating the tax credits was a negative but it will/should force manufacturers to make a more economical EV lineup.

Headlines about EVs from the WSJ and SchmoozeMAX are always negative and sensational aren't they? The animus towards EVs has pervaded their coverage since forever - so grain of salt, folks.

Switching away from fossil fuels is long overdue and all the things warned about by climate scientists are coming to fruition, stronger storms, more floods, wildfires, etc. Seems too late to completely stop it, but mitigation is still possible. Humans have a tendency to wait until the last possible moment to change direction.

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