Ford's electric dream in tatters as automaker
plots ending battery-powered version of
America's best-selling truck after huge losses
Daily Mail (UK),
by
Daniel Jones
Original Article
Posted By: Hazymac,
11/7/2025 6:58:29 AM
Ford is considering scrapping the electric version of its F-150 pickup — once billed as the future of American trucks — after racking up billions in losses and watching demand collapse.
Executives are in active talks about axing the money-losing F-150 Lightning altogether, sources told the Wall Street Journal, in what could become the first major casualty of America’s faltering electric vehicle revolution.
The Lightning, launched with fanfare in 2021 and hailed by CEO Jim Farley as a ‘smartphone that can tow,’ was supposed to mark a new era for Ford. President Joe Biden even took one for a spin, calling it ‘quick as hell.’
But the hype faded fast.
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Reply 1 - Posted by:
JHHolliday 11/7/2025 7:20:07 AM (No. 2026870)
I could have told Ford this years ago and am no overpaid marketing executive. The guys who buy those F-150s don’t want electric versions. Most don’t want unknown technology and don’t want some plugin thing that has to be charged and can’t be serviced by them or Hank at the dealership. Just another massive Bud Light moment.
20 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
Venturer 11/7/2025 7:21:29 AM (No. 2026871)
A smartphone that can tow, yeah great, as long as you are just going to tow with it around the yard.
A 70 mile tow and you better be looking for a charge. That's a 35 mile round trip. Pity the poor sucker that bought one of these, He won't be able to get rid of it without giving it away, and might find it hard to take a recipient.
14 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
seamusm 11/7/2025 7:31:37 AM (No. 2026879)
Ooops! It caught fire. Thankfully, nobody hurt (except the insurance company - and owners). Betcha we see many of these.
5 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
RobertJ984 11/7/2025 7:40:23 AM (No. 2026888)
What does that mean for Ford's brand new 5 BILLION dollar battery factory in Central Kentucky? (Blue Oval)
It just opened 2 months ago
12 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
hurricanegirl 11/7/2025 8:27:43 AM (No. 2026915)
So . . . Ford's electric dream is in tatters because a "best-selling truck" brought about "huge losses"? Either Ford had very, very low expectations, or somebody at the DM's trying to make this utter failure seem much better than it actually is. Either way, good riddance to golf carts on the highways.
7 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
vhs68 11/7/2025 8:54:52 AM (No. 2026921)
FINALLY!!! Farley needs to be canned. What a dipwad.
8 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
commonsence 11/7/2025 8:55:12 AM (No. 2026922)
What I find astounding is the amount of money those corporations pay out to their leaders. Anyone with an ounce of common sense could see the gross limitations those vehicles have. Add to that the amount of money they pay out to market research, and no one could see the disaster brewing!!! As far as I know no one GM executive has been fired for this disaster, absolutely no accountability.
9 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
NorthernDog 11/7/2025 8:59:53 AM (No. 2026926)
They spent $13 billion so Joe Biden could get a photo op driving one around the back lot. The Edsel can now be retired as Ford's worst marketing blunder.
12 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
Trump Won 11/7/2025 9:08:49 AM (No. 2026932)
By far and away the state that sells the most pickup trucks is Texas. It is 550 miles from San Antonio to El Paso, and the same distance from San Antonio to Louisiana. Do you think we want something that won't make it 300 miles without having to stop at Buc-ees and recharge it?
The only people buying these EVs live in the city and only have to drive back and forth to work and the grocery store. If the federal government hadn't demanded automakers go totally electric by 2035 and given a $7500 tax credit to buy one, then only the climate change fanatics would be driving an EV.
12 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
red1066 11/7/2025 9:19:17 AM (No. 2026940)
This is what you get when instead of listening to your customers, you listen to bureaucrats in D.C.
13 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
swarfer 11/7/2025 9:35:39 AM (No. 2026951)
All this was obvious from day one. Another bonehead mistake by the bandwagon boys following the crowd off the hype cliff. The cost of a gas F150 runs $50K to $80K and maybe more. The Lightning was never going to be $40K or even $50K. $13 billion of investor money down the drain instead of designing new generations of competitive vehicles. Ford management is its own worst enemy and has been for years.
9 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
paral04 11/7/2025 10:06:33 AM (No. 2026966)
You didn't have to be too bright to see that coming. Who would want an electric truck?
7 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
mifla 11/7/2025 10:28:23 AM (No. 2026987)
aka: No more government subsidies, so no one can afford or wants one.
4 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
mc squared 11/7/2025 11:09:28 AM (No. 2027009)
I watched a Youtube of an electric F150 and a conventional ( Chevy?). Poster 2 is correct: the EV couldn't make 100 miles and needed a charge to return.
5 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
DVC 11/7/2025 1:02:37 PM (No. 2027046)
A useless "truck" isn't a big seller.
I remember a video of a guy with a LIghtning Electric F150 and he was going to drive 75 miles to a nearby town to pick up an antique Ford Model A to bring home.
When he sat in the driveway, the range meter said something like 250 miles. He attached his smallish car trailer (a Model A isn't a big or heavy car) and set out. Within a few minutes the range meter said something like 80 miles. He barely made it to the location 75 miles away, had to wait a long time to recharge and fully charged, I don't think he could haul the Model A home without stopping for a recharge.
USELESS as a truck. Possibly useful as a short range commuter vehicle....
Ford has flushed $13,000,000,000 down the toilet in the last two years. Stop the insanity. We don't want expensive, useless vehicles with very limited range and super slow "refuel" times.
4 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
DVC 11/7/2025 1:46:48 PM (No. 2027061)
Here's a video about real world attempt to tow a LIGHT trailer and a LIGHT antique Ford, total weight of trailer and load of about 3600 lbs. About like a medium to small boat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nS0Fdayj8Y
It's interesting to note that the 1930 Ford Model A truck weighs about 2200 lbs. But, with the old fashioned low compression engine, it only gets 13 mpg, and has a 11 gallon tank. So....a 1930 Ford small truck would only have a range of about 140 miles. Of course, a pair of five gallon cans in the bed would double the range very easily and cheaply.
1 person likes this.
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