Shares of Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) soared by almost 2% on Friday, even though the US automaker announced a reduction in production for its F-150 Lightning pickup truck due to lower-than-expected demand for electric vehicles (EVs).
Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) disclosed on Friday its decision to scale back production of the F-150 Lightning at its Michigan Rouge Electric Vehicle Center, transitioning to a single shift starting April 1.
In a statement, Ford CEO Jim Farley said,
“We are taking advantage of our manufacturing flexibility to offer customers choices while balancing our growth and profitability.”
This decision follows Ford’s earlier announcement in October, where the company temporarily reduced one of three shifts at the Michigan plant responsible for manufacturing the electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck.
This move reflects a broader trend of slowing demand for EV trucks, with General Motors postponing the opening of a $4 billion electric truck plant in Michigan by a year in October.
Ford had informed suppliers in December about its plans to produce approximately 1,600 F-150 Lightning EV trucks per week from January onwards, a considerable drop from the initial target of 3,200 per week.
Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) reported selling 24,165 F-150 Lightning trucks in the United States last year, marking a 55% increase over 2022. However, this represents only a fraction of the total F-150 U.S. sales, which amounted to about 750,000 units.
Despite the production cut news, Ford’s stock showed resilience, closing Friday with a 1.91% increase. The day saw 60.61 million shares traded, surpassing the company’s daily average trading volume of 55.32 million.
Mary Lee is a freelance writer and journalist based in Toronto, Canada. She holds an M.S. degree in business and economic journalism from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism in New York and a certificate in digital marketing from the University of Toronto.
