Ford cancels electric F-150

In a call with reporters on Monday, Andrew Frick, the president of Ford Blue and Ford Model E, the company's commercial and electric divisions, said, "The American consumer is speaking clearly and they want the benefits of electrification like instant torque and mobile power. But they also demand affordability … rather than spending billions more on large EVs that now have no path to profitability, we are allocating that money into higher-returning areas," per NPR.

When the truck was announced in 2021, the company said that it would cost just $40,000. However, once trucks began to roll off the production line, the company was unable to hit this target. For the 2025 model, the price started at around $55,000. Ford also reportedly lost money on every vehicle, despite the higher price point, with electric vehicle sales being lower in recent years than expected, and production costs not coming down.

The truck was marketed toward those who love trucks, with outlets being located across the vehicle to run power tools, appliances, or even a house. And while the truck won multiple awards, including 2023 Truck of the Year from MotorTrend and Kelley Blue Book’s top pick in 2024 for electric trucks, shoppers were unhappy with reliability and limited towing range.

Frick said that "changes in the regulatory environment" were part of the "entire landscape" that resulted in the company ending the vehicle and moving toward an extended-range version in its place. The upcoming version will return to a gasoline engine that will allow the truck to keep driving even if the battery dies.

With the end of the Lightning electric truck, the company will pivot its Kentucky battery production site to build batteries for storage instead of trucks. These batteries could be used for the electric as well as data centers and other industrial customers, the company said.