Ford Motor Company has officially ended production of the all-electric version of the F-150 Lightning. The company’s flagship electric pickup won a bunch of awards over the years since it was first announced in 2021. Motortrend named it the 2023 Truck of the Year, it won the NACTOY award, and was Kelley Blue Book’s Top Pick for an electric truck in 2024. But despite all the hubbub, demand has faltered and the model has now been discontinued. Part of the issue is that electric car sales are cooling. Moreover, electric trucks can be some of the least reliable on the market, because they’re so new.
The aforementioned issues alone might have been enough to force Ford’s hand, but the current administration has also walked back some helpful EV policies. The tax credit was severely limited until recently, when it was canceled outright. Requirements related to fuel economy – which were previously encouraging both consumers and automakers to choose more efficient, sustainable options – have also been relaxed.
Ultimately, Ford has made the decision to end the F-150 Lightning production for good and will shift its EV focus to more compact, affordable varieties. Future F-150 Lightning models will instead be hybrid, focusing on extended-range options versus all-battery.
What does this mean for EVs?
The cancellation of Ford’s F-150 Lightning signals a major industry pivot. NPR reported on some of Andrew Frick’s comments during a recent call — Frick being the president of Ford Blue and Ford model e, including the electric division. “The American consumer is speaking clearly and they want the benefits of electrification like instant torque and mobile power. But they also demand affordability.” Compared to standard EVs, the F-150 Lightning was not in that bracket. “Rather than spending billions more on large EVs that now have no path to profitability, we are allocating that money into higher-returning areas.”
Frick also said that regulatory changes and trends in the “entire landscape” also contributed to the electric truck’s cancellation. Ford isn’t the only company making a move like this. A lot of other brands are consolidating or discontinuing expensive models. There are at least five BGR has counted that won’t make it to 2026. Slowing consumer demand, high costs, changing regulatory policies and market adjustments to hybrid over all-electric, are all contributing to a greater shift. Dodge, Nissan, Kia, Jeep, Volkswagen, and, of course, Ford, are some of the companies discontinuing EVs this year. The F-150 Lightning is just another grille in the crowd at this point.
