(October 31, 2024) Ford plans to stop building its F-150 Lightning from mid-November through the end of the year amid lower-than-expected demand for the electric pickup, according to Automotive News. The seven-week shutdown will begin at the end of the day Nov. 15 and include the traditional weeklong holiday break, with production resuming Jan. 6. The automaker recently informed suppliers and plant officials of the plan, which a Ford spokesperson confirmed to Automotive News.

“We continue to adjust production for an optimal mix of sales growth and profitability,” Ford said in a statement.

The extended hiatus in Lightning output marks the latest downshift for a once-hot product whose importance CEO Jim Farley and Executive Chair Bill Ford have likened to that of the Model T.

Ford started the year by cutting in half planned Lightning production targets and slashing two-thirds of the jobs at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Mich., dropping it to one daily shift. In early 2024, a stop-ship order for an undisclosed quality issue halted shipments of the truck for more than nine weeks, although production continued.

U.S. sales of the Lightning are up 86 percent this year through September, to 22,807, although the truck lost its title as the nation’s bestselling electric pickup to the Tesla Cybertruck. Canadian Lightning sales figures aren’t available.

Source: Automotive News