Ford’s Rouge electric vehicle plant in Dearborn, Michigan will be idled for a period of 7 weeks. This facility, responsible for assembling the Ford F-150 Lightningis expected to resume operations at the beginning of January. Ford says the move is linked to a drop in demand for its all-electric pickup truck.
Adjustment
The reason given by Ford? The Lightning, once the best-selling electric pickup truck on the market, has had a turbulent year. The company also declared in a press release to the media Automotive News : “We continue to adjust production for an optimal mix of sales growth and profitability. »
It should also be noted that the company was able to make up for a production delay linked to various challenges in the automotive field. According to research firm Cox Automotive, Ford has enough F-150 inventory for 100 days of sales. Although specific data for the F-150 Lightning is not specified, it is likely that its inventories are similar to those of Ford’s other electric vehicles, such as the Mustang Mach-E and E-Transit, which respectively have stocks for 130 and 128 days.
This is not the first time that Ford has interrupted production of the F-150 Lightning. In fact, the company shut down the assembly line for 9 weeks last February to resolve an undisclosed quality problem. The manufacturer had even issued a sales halt.
Production resumed in April, and the Ford F-150 Lightning seemed to have the wind in its sails. In fact, in the United States, 22,807 Lightnings have found buyers since the start of the year, which represents an increase of 86% compared to the previous year. It is also impossible to have sales figures for the F-150 Lightning here, because Ford combines sales of electric pickup trucks with those of the entire F range, including the regular F-150 and the Super Duty variants. .
A tumultuous year
The Dearborn factory will therefore cease operations from November 15 and will remain shut down until January 6, 2025. The 7-week production shutdown includes the traditional one-week break for the summer vacation.
Ford had already started cuts this year. The manufacturer decided in January to reduce its F-150 Lightning production by 50% to focus on the Bronco and Ranger. Staff cuts followed in March.
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