Ford to idle F-150 Lightning production for seven weeks

Ford (NYSE:F) is reportedly planning to idle production of its F-150 Lightning until early 2025 as demand for electric vehicles fails to meet the company’s expectations.

According to media sources, the seven-week downtime will begin November 15 and continue through the holiday break until January 6, 2025.

“We continue to adjust production for an optimal mix of sales growth and profitability,” the company said in a statement cited by Automotive News.

Although sales for the F-150 Lightning doubled in Q3 according to data released by the company earlier this week, the entire EV division is falling behind and dragging down profitability for the company. In Ford’s latest quarterly earnings report, Ford Model e reported a wider EBIT loss of $1.2B on a 33% drop in revenue from a year ago. This is in comparison to a 13% increase in sales for the company’s commercial division, and 3% gain in sales for its traditional internal combustion engine vehicles.

CEO Jim Farley warned of the “slow uptake” of EVs in the company’s earnings call this week, a phenomenon that doesn’t seem isolated to Ford, with General Motors’ (GM) EV division also losing money. However, with competition from Tesla’s (TSLA) Cybertruck, Rivian’s (RIVN) R1T, and GM’s (GM) Hummer, Sierra Denali, and Chevy Silverado, the competition is fierce as EV light-duty trucks account for just 1% of total demand for pickup trucks.

Since reporting Q3 results on Monday, Ford (F) shares have failed to recover the 8% loss in its wake, currently trading another 1.7% lower.