Lightning sales down 42 percent in May

[davehu]

journalist like politicians like to cherry pick the data. the first mention of the Lightning says that sales droppe 42%

The Silverado EV is kicking butt and taking names. People like the range it offers and are will to pay the extra bucks for it.

check your facts: Ford F-150 Lightning Outsells Silverado EV And Sierra EV Combined During Q1 2025 May sales didn't look good but it's just one month and actually was a 10% bump up from April.

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[Citizen0]

I agree that @Ford Motor Company should do more to advertise the Lightning. At a hair under 3-years of ownership and over 62k miles I could not be happier with the truck. It has powered my home and my mom's home next door through two cumulative weeks of power outages after the hurricanes last year in South Georgia. I've been to camp grounds and projected a movie in an empty field. I've pulled floats in a parade. It is an incredible truck that does more than any other truck out there all at a fraction of the cost. Maintenance is basically rotating tires and swapping the cabin air filter.

What I truly wish it that Ford would "give" dealerships a Lightning that the sales people have to drive for a month. Get it in the hands of the people that sell them and they would sing a different tune to potential buyers. There are just so many advantages to going electric.

If there was a way to get a Lightning on loan to potential (or even those that "prefer" gas") for even a week would be a game changer.

Beyond the Tesla early adopters, EVs are still in their infancy. I don't know what it will take for the general public to experience what it's truly like driving electric and dispel the lies. I literally wake up every day with 80% charge. Range is simply not an issue most of the time. Even driving several hundred miles is a non-issue. The last two trips I took the truck was charged beyond 80% by the time I could get into Buc-ee's for a quick bathroom break and to grab a sandwich and snack for the rest of the trip. Super long distance (like driving up to Indiana to visit family) is a little more problematic adding about 4 hours to an already long drive. I would consider renting something in that situation. But for daily driving the Lightning (and by extension my husband's Mach E) simply can't be beat.

 

[jjupi91897]

journalist like politicians like to cherry pick the data. the first mention of the Lightning says that sales droppe 42%

check your facts: Ford F-150 Lightning Outsells Silverado EV And Sierra EV Combined During Q1 2025 May sales didn't look good but it's just one month and actually was a 10% bump up from April.

I am looking at the market share trend. Lightning went from 66 percent to 34 percent market share, which is a 48 percent decrease. Silverado went from 9 percent market share to 11 percent, which is a 22 percent increase.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/fordau...rs-figures-results-first-quarter-2025-q1/amp/

 

[Henry Ford]

The question then becomes what is Ford's long term plan. If the lighting goes away when they refresh the F150, which isn't that far away, and T3 is dead - that just leaves the Mach-e as a Ford EV. And that is already dated with no refresh planned.

Ford started out strong in the EV space, but seems to have given up. Not a great plan for long term relevancy.

This is pretty much Ford's long term plan as far as I can tell.

Can you blame them? The current administration is rolling back CAFE standards, removing all recent EPA rules (this hasn't made the news yet), and wants to charge us for not burning oil while driving. Ford has perfected the pickup truck; might as well sell as many as they can. Why spend R&D money when you don't need to?

If course, this will destroy their ability to sell cars anywhere else in the world but if you are going to be a regional auto maker, the United States is a pretty good place to do it.

 

[MotoGary]

I asked ChatGPT to write a haiku about this topic:

Owners sing its praises
Lightning glows in loyal hearts-
Whispers of the end.

I think that’s a pretty good summary of where we are.

 

[MaintGrl]

I asked ChatGPT to write a haiku about this topic:

Owners sing its praises
Lightning glows in loyal hearts-
Whispers of the end.

I think that’s a pretty good summary of where we are.

 

[user-name-required]

For my $0.02, I sure hope they keep the Lightning going, as this has been a fantastic truck and I have made many, many people do a serious "huh, that's what having an EV truck is like??" when they have asked me about it.

Honestly I feel like want to become a youtube person blathering on about EVs and EV trucks because once you drive them and live with them, they are just such a no brainer.

I powered my house through some regional power outages recently...I power my mountain bike airbag sessions from this truck, power our trailer while camping, charge up the kids' and our friends' e-bikes while camping, all totally silently. Sports car level acceleration, great ride, super happy with the interior, etc.

Honestly I just don't get why more folks don't drive one. Off-street parking is so, so prevalent here that it would be a no brainer. The Flash trim is basically the same MSRP as a similar spec XLT trim where I am at (huge cab, 4x4, etc.), and one of them costs about $25 per 100km to fuel up and mine costs about $3.


@Ford Motor Company , your truck is great but you do a poor job of marketing it.

 

[chl]

Sales of everything are down in May for many reasons including uncertain tariff effects, fear of a recession, chaos in Washington (DC), retirement funds hit, etc. so I am not worried because in May 2025 Lightning sales dropped.

I think there is definitely a market for EV trucks - why else would Slate exist?

If Ford had started with a smaller, lighter, EV PU maybe the size of a Ranger, with a lower price tag, they might have done better. It probably could have had just as much power but a larger range on a charge. The spike in MSRP because of the COVID supply chain problems turned a lot of potential buyers off until the price came back down to earth.

My only disappointments in the Lightning are the software and the Home Integration System implementation fail - it seems to me that the software problems probably dominate complaints on the forums. The HIS was advertised in TV commercials that were really motivating, but they failed to deliver a reliable and affordable system and word about that travels fast. Using the bed 240V outlet as a standby generator is a better option if done safely up to code.

Part of the market share drop is clearly because of competition from the Silverado.
I had a reservation for both the Lightning and the SIlverado, but the Silverado was delayed - it first come first served when the price was right.

I agree with others who think China is going to dominate the EV market around the world and US manufacturers will be left in the dust. They are already selling EVs practically everywhere except the US while we alienate our trading partners with tariff threats.

What will Ford do?

Maybe the US auto industry has become a dinosaur and extinction is inevitable without a major change in thinking.

Not worried, but not optimistic about the next few years.

 

[NW Ontario Ford Lightning]

I see the Lightning running its coarse at this model - after all they have the line set up and running, but they will continue to cut output to closer match the sales.

Until there is a new battery option that provides more range and faster charging in the same volume/weight/cost as current technology, there isn't going to be a next gen Lightning.

The political turmoil, slower sales, market jitters, and increased competition all push in one direction. and not a good one.

More bums in seats would help change opinions, but the early selling above MSRP and limiting base model production volumes hurt Ford in a way they can't recover from now.

Love the truck, and plan to drive it for ten years. By then some 1000-mile range, 10-minute charging self--driving truck will likely replace it. Hopefully still N.American made, but decisions made now will affect that likelihood.

 

[Whammy Bar]

@Ford Motor Company , your truck is great but you do a poor job of marketing it.

They haven't logged in in over a month, and only a handful of times explaining how they're gonna be better this calendar year.

Interpret that however you choose...

 

[Adventureboy]

unless they can fix the software it will continue to fall. Most EV manufacturers are failing with the software. they have not realized EV's are about the software. where as ICE is about the hardware, ie. sound, shifting, buttons, violent moves, ease of gas filling. EV's are what can the software deliver entertainment, information, quietness, smoothness, charging control.

While I agree there are bumps and grinds on the software side, the truck works and does everything an F50 should do. I've had my 2023 now for 2.5 years, and seen only minor software annoyances and a few fuse pulls/12v resets in the first year. Since then, it has been pretty good. The truck works like a truck every time I get in it. It is no Tesla - it is a truck.

 

[Maineiac12]

Sales of everything are down in May for many reasons including uncertain tariff effects, fear of a recession, chaos in Washington (DC), retirement funds hit, etc. so I am not worried because in May 2025 Lightning sales dropped.

ICE sales are up. Mach-E sales are up. It’s specifically a Lightning issue.

https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2025/06/03/ford-auto-sales-may-tariffs.html

 

[Adventureboy]

ICE sales are up. Mach-E sales are up. It’s specifically a Lightning issue.

https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2025/06/03/ford-auto-sales-may-tariffs.html

Silverado/Sierra fills in the gap for the range-anxious folks and no doubt pulls some market share here. I'm hoping @Ford has a longer range option for 2026. I doubt they are sitting on the sidelines.

 

[MaintGrl]

I see the Lightning running its coarse at this model - after all they have the line set up and running, but they will continue to cut output to closer match the sales.

Until there is a new battery option that provides more range and faster charging in the same volume/weight/cost as current technology, there isn't going to be a next gen Lightning.

The political turmoil, slower sales, market jitters, and increased competition all push in one direction. and not a good one.

More bums in seats would help change opinions, but the early selling above MSRP and limiting base model production volumes hurt Ford in a way they can't recover from now.

Love the truck, and plan to drive it for ten years. By then some 1000-mile range, 10-minute charging self--driving truck will likely replace it. Hopefully still N.American made, but decisions made now will affect that likelihood.

Ya, last thing Ford needs is to have a glut of Lightnings sitting around a staging lot, like the 10k CT's

 

[Maineiac12]

Silverado/Sierra fills in the gap for the range-anxious folks and no doubt pulls some market share here. I'm hoping @Ford has a longer range option for 2026. I doubt they are sitting on the sidelines.

I’d like to think so, but they cut the battery size of the XLT and Flash for 2025 while their competitors are increasing battery. It makes no sense.

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