Ford F-150 Lightning Dead? WSJ Says Truck is on the Chopping Block

An exclusive story in the Wall Street Journal says the Ford F-150 Lightning is on the chopping block with company executives actively considering ending its production.

The once heralded future of trucks is now seen as dead weight and part of the $13 billion Ford has lost on their electric vehicle business

Ford F-150 Lightning dead?

The electric truck has faced several obstacles including a recent one where the loss of a key aluminum supplier and poor sales have led to its production currently being halted.

With no truck being produced at the moment and slow sales plus Ford CEO Jim Farley stating customers want smaller, cheaper EVs, the signs don’t look good for the Lightning.

Ford recently announced plans to spend $2 billion on a midsize EV pickup with a lower starting price of $30,000.

Bringing the smaller, cheaper midsize truck to market seems to be adding to the reasons for the death of the full-size Lightning with its starting price nearly twice as much.

The 2024 Lightning was trying to come in at a lower price point with reduced prices and a new Flash trim starting at less than $70,000.

Plus, the loss of the $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit is a massive hit for the more expensive truck.

While the Ford F-150 Lightning gained fans early on with its quiet, smooth power, concerns over towing range, cold-weather driving and the continued difficulty with reliable public charging have been factors in slow sales.

Our latest Q2 truck sales report showed the Lightning sold just 5,842 trucks for the three-month time period and only 13,029 for the year, down 16.7% year over year.

In contrast the Ford F-Series lineup (F-150, F-250, F-350 and F-450) sold 222k trucks in the same time period.

The Wall Street Journal reports company officials haven’t made an official determination on the fate of the F-150 Lightning as of right now.