The EV scene in the US doesn’t look particularly rosy at the moment ford Interrupting the production of the F-150 lighting electric ute indefinitely, and Chevrolet kill it Brightdrop Electric van.
A fire at an aluminum factory in upstate New York caused headaches for eight automakers in mid-September, but Ford is the hardest hit because the F-150 line uses aluminum body panels to reduce weight.
In response to the fire, Ford slowed production of the F-150 and paused around October 13 at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center (REVC), which makes the F-150 Lightning.
Now the Blue Oval says it has suspended production of the electric plane indefinitely as it relocates those employees and plans to hire more workers to add another shift to the main F-150 production line.
Despite these efforts, Ford expects F-150 production to fall by around 100,000 trucks in the fourth quarter, cutting its profit by $1.5 billion to $2 billion (AU$2.3 billion to $3.1 billion) this year.
When Kumar Galhotra, Ford’s chief operating officer, was asked if the F-150 Lightning would be phased out, he replied, “Whenever we’re ready, we’ll ramp up REVC again.”
While Ford’s Australian showrooms stock F-150s that are locally converted to right-hand drive, the company is not officially offering the Lightning Down Under. Queensland-based AusEV has filled the gap, refurbishing and selling the Lightning locally.
Meanwhile, crosstown rival General Motors has both good and bad news to share with EV fans.
On the one hand, it welcomes an updated Chevrolet Bolt after a production break of two years. During this time, GM optimized the design and revised the electrical package to incorporate a lithium iron phosphate battery and faster charging.
While the Bolt, priced at under US$30,000 (A$46,000), will compete with the Nissan Leaf at the lower end of the US electric vehicle market, the Chevrolet Brightdrop electric van occupies a much more expensive niche with prices starting at US$75,300 (A$115,300).
Although it’s about the same price as Rivian’s EDV (electric van), it’s about US$20,000 (A$30,000) more expensive than rivals from Ford and Ram.
So far this year, Chevrolet has sold about 4,000 Brightdrop vans, most of them ahead of the expiration of the US federal government’s $7,500 ($11,500 AUD) electric vehicle tax credit at the end of September.
To put that in context, Chevrolet sold 43,637 Express vans during the same period. The V8-powered Express was launched in 1996 and underwent a facelift once in 2003.
In response to the end of the U.S. government’s electric vehicle tax incentives, some manufacturers are cutting electric vehicle prices, and all are bracing for a drop in sales.
GM confirmed Chevrolet’s decision to ax the Brightdrop van in a conference call this week.
