Ford Motor on Monday reduced prices of its F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck by between $6,000 and nearly $10,000, the latest sign of sluggish demand for electric vehicles.
The price cuts come as inventories of unsold electric vehicles are rising on dealer lots, and follow several rounds of discounting by Tesla, the dominant seller of electric cars.
Ford is lowering prices after it temporarily halted production of the truck this year to upgrade its assembly line and increase output. By the fall, the company expects its Rouge Electric Vehicle Center near Detroit to be able to churn out 150,000 Lightnings a year, triple its current production capacity.
Competition in the electric vehicle business is growing more intense. Tesla said on Saturday that it had started producing its much delayed Cybertruck pickup, and General Motors is expected to soon begin delivering an electric version of the Chevrolet Silverado truck.
Ford began making the Lightning in the spring of 2022 and raised prices several times by a total of around $20,000, citing increasing cost of raw materials for its batteries. At the time, demand far outstripped Ford’s production and some dealers were charging thousands of dollars more than the company’s suggested retail price.
“Shortly after launching the F-150 Lightning, rapidly rising material costs, supply constraints and other factors drove up the cost of the E.V. truck for Ford and our customers,” said Marin Gjaja, the chief customer officer for the automaker’s electric vehicle division. “We’ve continued to work in the background to improve accessibility to help lower prices for our customers and shorten wait times.”
Ford said the Pro model of the F-150 Lightning has a list price of $49,995, a reduction of $9,979. The XLT 312A model with an extended range battery was cut $8,879, to $69,995. The top-of-the-line Platinum extended-range model will sell for $91,995, or $6,079 less than last week.
As a result of price cuts, most Lightning models will cost less than $80,000, making them eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit authorized by President Biden’s ambitious climate change law, the Inflation Reduction Act.
To further spur demand, Ford is also offering a $1,000 discount for shoppers who custom order certain models through dealers by July 31. Ford’s credit arm is also offering 1.9 percent financing on 36-month loans.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.