Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) says it wants to be the number one electric vehicle (EV) company in America. Its aspirations got a setback when it announced third-quarter sales. Sales of its EV flagship, the F-150 Lightning, fell from a meager 6,464 last year to a tiny 3,503, a drop of 46%. Ironically, sales of the gasoline-powered version of the F-150 rose 13.4% to 190,477. Ford hopes to sell tens of thousands of units of the Lightning next year. Based on the quarterly figures, that seems extremely unlikely. (These are America’s 17 favorite pickup trucks.)
[in-text-ad]
Ford said plant downtime and slow demand for the Lightning were the reasons for lackluster sales. Neither is a good sign. Ford should keep open plants building such a critical product. Demand for a vehicle that Ford expects to ride into the EV future should be extremely strong.
Ford has struggled with EVs in general. It was supposed to hit an EV production rate of 600,000 by the end of this year. That was put off until next year. Ford also said the pace of production for the Lightning would be 150,000 at year-end because of demand. What happened to demand last quarter?
The Lightning trouble remains a sign of Ford’s management problems, which, in the past, has caused mistakes about expenses and increases in Lightning prices. A global manufacturer should do better, not only by a modest margin.
24/7 Wall St.In the past two years, Ford’s stock price has retreated 21%, while the S&P 500 is off 3%. If the markets believed Ford’s story about its future, this would not have happened.
Want to Retire Early? Start Here (Sponsor)
Want retirement to come a few years earlier than you’d planned? Or are you ready to retire now, but want an extra set of eyes on your finances?
Now you can speak with up to 3 financial experts in your area for FREE. By simply clicking here you can begin to match with financial professionals who can help you build your plan to retire early. And the best part? The first conversation with them is free.
Click here to match with up to 3 financial pros who would be excited to help you make financial decisions.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
