Prices are falling for Ford’s F-150 Lightning electric pickup which was voted the 2023 MotorTrend Truck of the Year, amid reports that unsold EVs clutter dealer parking lots.
“Ford is taking advantage of increased plant capacity, continued work on scaling production and cost, and improving battery raw material costs to help lower the MSRP of F-150 Lightning® for all customers,” the Detroit automaker announced on Monday, adding that upgrades at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Michigan “combined with improving battery raw material costs and continued work on scaling production and cost, help make it possible to lower pricing across the F-150 Lightning line.”
“Customers will now have greater availability of their built-to-order truck as early as October at an MSRP closer to initial Lightning pricing,” the statement added.
As seen below, the updated MSRP for its lowest-priced electric pickup truck will be $49,995, down from $59,974. The Lariat 510A’s MSRP will drop to $69,995 from $76,974.
“Shortly after launching the F-150 Lightning, rapidly rising material costs, supply constraints and other factors drove up the cost of the EV truck for Ford and our customers,” Marin Gjaja, chief customer officer for Ford Model e said. “We’ve continued to work in the background to improve accessibility and affordability to help to lower prices for our customers and shorten the wait times for their new F-150 Lightning.”
Ford also announced that beginning in early 2024, F-150 Lightning customers will have access to over 12,000 Tesla Superchargers across the U.S. and Canada.
In addition to a $1,000 manufacturer’s bonus, Ford noted most F-150 Lightning models are eligible to receive as much as $7,500 in potential Inflation Reduction Act consumer and commercial electric vehicle tax credits.
“The price cuts arrive two days after Tesla rolled the Cybertruck off the assembly line and 10 days after the Elon Musk-led company offered its buyers an opportunity to earn extra incentives through referrals from existing customers, a marketing strategy typically used by traditional automakers like Ford and GM,” Fox Business reported.
Last week, Axios reported that car manufacturers are beginning to experience a glut in their EV inventory.
“The growing mismatch between EV supply and demand is a sign that even though consumers are showing more interest in EVs, they’re still wary about purchasing one because of price or charging concerns,” the media outlet reported.
The nationwide supply of EVs in stock has swelled nearly 350% this year, with more than 92,000 units — or a 92-day supply — on hand, according to Axios. That’s “roughly three months’ worth of EVs, and nearly twice the industry average,” the outlet reported, adding that dealers “have a relatively low 54 days’ worth of gasoline-powered vehicles in inventory as they rebound from pandemic-related supply chain interruptions.”
This comes as the Biden administration forces an estimated two-thirds of all new-car sales to be electric by the end of 2032, as a result of its new tailpipe emission regulation.
EVs are more expensive than gas-powered cars and rising electrical rates were making it more costly to fuel them by the end of 2022, according to a report published by the Anderson Economic Group.
“In Q4 2022, typical mid-priced ICE car drivers paid about $11.29 to fuel their vehicles for 100 miles of driving,” the January 2023 report said. “That cost was around $0.31 cheaper than the amount paid by mid-priced EV drivers charging mostly at home, and over $3 less than the cost borne by comparable EV drivers charging commercially.”
Charging stations may also be a challenge for new EV owners.
There are currently about 130,000 public charging stations in the U.S., according to the White House. Fuels Institute forecasts about 1.7 million charging stations will be needed by 2030 and it’s questionable whether manufacturing can keep pace.
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Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.
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