Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) only sold 1,542 F-150 Lightning electric vehicles (EVs) in October. That was down 17% from the same month a year ago. And it is only 51 a day nationwide for Ford’s electric flagship. Now, Ford may kill the Lightning completely. There could not be a greater blow to the company’s EV ambitions. Executive Chair Bill Ford had said the launch of the vehicle was the most important during his time at the company.
The Wall Street Journal reports, “Ford Motor executives are in active discussions about scrapping the electric version of its F-150 pickup, according to people familiar with the matter, which would make the money-losing truck America’s first major EV casualty.” Ford’s EV sales across all models in October totaled 4,709, which was down 25% year over year. The expiration of the $7,500 federal tax credit on EV sales probably hit demand.
Long term, the tax credit is not an issue. After promising a $30 billion investment in EVs, Ford retreated rapidly. Ultimately, Ford discovered it is a gasoline-powered vehicle company. Sales of its internal-combustion vehicles were up 3.4% in October to 153,377. Sales of those cars have been strong all year.
Ford management might be acknowledging that gasoline-powered vehicles have a very bright future. iSeeCars expects EVs as a percentage of all new car sales in the United States will drop to 4% in this quarter and well into 2026. Only Tesla will make money on EV sales in the short term.
It is often said that Americans are unhappy with the range of EVs and worry about the scarcity of public charging stations. EVs are more expensive than other cars, too. The F-150 Lightning has a base price of $54,780, and top-end versions can cost over $75,000.
The Lightning has been a failure. The best thing Ford can do is walk away.
Ford Stock Price Prediction and Forecast 2025–2030
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