Ford prepares to resume shipments, drops some prices

Dearborn, MI— Ford is lowering starting prices on some all-electric F-150 Lightning pickup trucks as the company prepares to resume shipping the vehicles after quality issues.

The included models are expected to ship later this month at prices ranging from $2,000 to $5,500 less than before the automaker stopped shipping them in early February due to undisclosed quality issues.

The biggest price cut is on the mid-level Flash trim of the pickup, which is now $5,500 lower to $67,995. Subsequently, the Lariat model has been reduced by $2,500 to a new price of $74,995, and the XLT model has been reduced by $2,000 to a new price of $62,995.

Prices remain unchanged for the $54,995 entry-level Pro model and the $84,995 top-end Platinum model.

The cost reduction is the latest EV price change across the auto industry as consumer adoption is slower than expected. Ford’s price cut comes three months after it adjusted Lightning prices, including raising prices for some models.

“This is part of a normal response to the market, our supply and inventory… We’ve been doing this,” Ford Chief Operating Officer Kumar Galhotra told reporters on the sidelines of an event hosted by Ford Motor Co. .” The -150 factory is located in Dearborn, Michigan. “New technologies like electric vehicles take some time to find the right sweet spot and balance.”

Galhotra declined to comment on the nature of the problems that caused the outages or why gas and diesel versions of the F-150 were stranded for months after production began. He outlined that engineers are constantly writing software onto vehicle modules, which are all connected to modems, to detect any anomalies and identify defects.

“There are some minor issues,” Galhotra said. “Once we find a solution, we fix them and ship them. … We try to find everything we can.”

exist media materials Ford cited what it called an “unprecedented truck offensive” in a press release Thursday, saying it assembled 144,000 F-150 full-size and Ranger midsize pickup trucks in the first quarter and that they are on their way to dealers and customers. . about 92% pickup truck built It’s an F-150 pickup truck.

Having a large number of vehicles is not a good thing for an automaker. This means higher costs on their books and delayed deliveries to dealers and customers.

automotive news Reported on April 4 Ford has revived a controversial practice of goal-based incentives for dealers, called a “ladder program,” to increase vehicle sales. According to Automotive News, the automaker has been offering increasing cash bonuses to retailers since February if they meet and exceed monthly F-150 sales targets. in response to a request for comment on the plan.

Last year, Ford also delayed shipments of its large Super Duty pickup truck, the F-150’s sibling, for months to undergo additional quality checks and inspections after problems with the recently launched product led to recalls and high warranty costs .

“We will always prioritize quality. These are very complex vehicles and the products being released are complex. We want to take the time to make sure everything is good and everything is perfect,” Galhotra said. “When we are satisfied with the quality level, only then will we start shipping to customers.”

Ford said its warranty costs create an annual cost disadvantage of $7 billion to $8 billion compared with traditional competitors.

Correction: Automotive News published a report on Ford’s goal-based incentives on April 4. A previous version of this article misstated the date.