Ford pulls the plug on the all-electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck

"Ford Motor Company has ceased production of the all-electric F-150 Lightning, its flagship full-size electric pickup, and will focus instead on hybrid vehicles and a future line of smaller, cheaper EVs. Battery plants once intended to supply Ford trucks will now be sending batteries to bolster the electric grid instead. Ford says the move is following customer demand, and reflecting the reality that the all-electric Lightning was a money-loser and Ford, concluded, it always would be."

""The American consumer is speaking clearly and they want the benefits of electrification like instant torque and mobile power," said Andrew Frick, the president of Ford Blue and Ford model e, the company's commercial and electric divisions. He spoke to reporters on a call on Monday. "But they also demand affordability rather than spending billions more on large EVs that now have no path to profitability, we are allocating that money into higher-returning areas.""

"The Lightning's design evolved from what was once a gas-powered truck. And now it will come full circle; an upcoming plug-in hybrid version of the truck will once again have a gasoline engine, in the form of a generator that will allow the vehicle to keep driving even if the battery runs out of juice. The all-electric Lightning is dead; the extended-range Lightning is on its way."

Ford has ended production of the all-electric F-150 Lightning and will shift investment toward hybrid vehicles and a planned line of smaller, lower-cost electric models. Battery factories originally meant to supply truck batteries will instead send cells to bolster the electric grid. The all-electric Lightning proved unprofitable and unsustainable at scale given current customer preferences and pricing realities. An upcoming plug-in hybrid Lightning will reintegrate a gasoline generator to extend range. The original Lightning offered mainstream truck styling and extensive onboard power outlets for worksite tools, tailgates, and emergency home backup.

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