The Ford F-150 Lightning The electric pickup truck was discontinued as part of a strategic shift by the automaker to electric vehicles (EVs) that has cost it billions.
However, the Blue Oval still forecasts overall profit in 2025 and profitability for its Model e-EV division by 2029.
Ford has announced that production of the battery-electric F-150 Lightning, which was unveiled in 2022 but was never part of the Ford Australia range, will end this year and will be replaced by a new F-150 Lightning range-extended electric vehicle (EREV).
The EREV version will enter production at an unspecified date at the same factory: the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan.
There is no confirmation as to whether the F-150 EREV will join the Australian model range. The F-150’s first refresh since its introduction here in 2023 is scheduled for 2026.
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Unlike Ford’s existing F-150 Hybrid, the EREV’s gasoline engine never transmits drive directly to the wheels. Instead, electricity is generated, with the drive being transferred to electric motors. Ford says the combined range will be more than 700 miles (1126 km).
Ford’s move to scrap the electric F-150 Lightning follows Ram’s decision this year not to move forward with an electric version of its 1500 and instead focus on an EREV version.
The F-150 Lightning has been described by Ford as its most significant vehicle introduction since the 1908 Model T, which is largely credited with giving the world the world’s first truly affordable mass-market car on wheels – with an Australian version released in 1925.
The move to an EREV version reflects comments made by Ford CEO and President Jim Farley on an earnings call in February 2025, in which he suggested a move away from battery electric vehicles (BEVs) toward EREV models instead.
Ford says the move will cost the auto giant US$19.5 billion (AU$29.4 billion) and is part of a further shakeup of its electric vehicle (EV) plans.
As part of the changes, an electric van was also discontinued, with production scheduled to begin in Ohio in 2028. Petrol and hybrid models will be introduced instead.
However, Ford is still planning an electric pickup truck on its new “low-cost, flexible” Universal EV Platform. The Ranger-sized pickup will go into production at the Louisville Assembly Plant and is said to be the first of several “smaller, highly efficient and affordable electric vehicles designed to be accessible to millions of customers.”
“This is a customer-focused transformation to create a stronger, more resilient and more profitable Ford,” CEO Jim Farley said in a statement.
“The operational reality has changed and we are investing capital in higher return growth opportunities: Ford Pro, our market-leading trucks and vans, hybrid vehicles and high-margin opportunities such as our new battery energy storage business.”
By 2030, Ford expects electric vehicles, EREVs and hybrids will together account for 50 percent of its global volume.
Ford has revised its EV approach several times since introducing the F-150 Lightning. Farley suggested that the end of EV incentives in the US last September could result in EV sales falling by half.
For example, plans to introduce a large electric SUV in 2024 were scrapped. With the demise of the F-150 Lightning EV, it’s clear that Ford is shifting its electric vehicle focus to smaller, cheaper Universal EV Platform vehicles.
In Australia, the federal government is set to consider changes to Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) incentives for electric vehicle buyers by early 2026 and is considering a nationwide road tax.
Mr. Farley has previously suggested that increased competition from Chinese automakers poses a greater threat to Ford’s future than its traditional U.S. rivals General Motors (GM) and Chrysler (now part of Dutch Stellantis).
“They have enough capacity in China with the existing factories to serve the entire North American market. That put all of us out of business. Japan never had that. So that’s a completely different level of risk for our industry,” Mr. Farley said CBS Sunday Morning last month.
The new strategy also comes after a tumultuous year for the global auto industry, as tariffs imposed by the U.S. in April – and several changes to them since then – created uncertainty and prevented automakers from committing to long-term product lineups.
The US is the world’s second-largest new car market, with around 16 million sales in 2024 – behind China’s 30 million.
Ford Australia introduced its first electric vehicle, the E-Transit commercial van, in 2023; Since then, the E-Transit Custom and the Mustang Mach-E have been added.
The Mustang Mach-E struggled to establish itself locally. Ford Australia delivered 435 units this year – 31.9 percent less than the same period last year.
While it outperforms the Kia EV6 and Subaru Solterra, it is outperformed by the Toyota bZ4X by 2 to 1 and the Volkswagen ID.4 by almost 3 to 1, while the Tesla Model Y dwarfs them all.
As for Ford’s electric vans, the E-Transit accounts for less than seven percent of total sales of the Transit Heavy, while the E-Transit Custom hasn’t been on sale all year.
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