'An ominous sign': Ford dramatically slashes production of electric truck to match 'customer demand'

Ford Motor Company is dramatically slashing production of its marquee electric vehicle, the F-150 Lightning.

When Ford debuted the electric truck last January, the automaker planned to build 150,000 per year, citing high customer demand that began with 200,000 initial reservations for the vehicle.

But Ford is now telling dealers it will cut production in half starting next month, Automotive News reported. Currently, the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan, is producing about 3,200 F-150 Lightning trucks per week. After the cut, the plant will make only 1,600 weekly. Auto news website Jalopnik described the move as "an ominous sign" for the EV industry.

"We will continue to match Lightning production to customer demand," a Ford spokesperson said.

Ford declined to offer additional details behind its decision to slash production, but the issues plaguing the electric vehicle market are not a secret.

The customer market for electric vehicles, compared to the gas-powered vehicle market, remains underwhelming, leading to a surplus of inventory. EVs, moreover, are often impractical for road trips because the charging infrastructure is unreliable, and the F-150 Lightning is challenged by unique issues. They are also more expensive on average than gas-powered vehicles. A brand new F-150 Lightning, for example, costs $49,955 — more than $13,000 than the cheapest gas-powered F-150.

Ford, meanwhile, is hemorrhaging money. The automaker has lost more than $3 billion on EVs this year, and projects to lose about $4 billion in total on EVs by the end of the year.

The sour state of the EV market has led Ford to delay or cancel $12 billion of planned investments in the EV industry. General Motors and Honda have also scaled back investments.

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