Ford Considers Cutting Shift at F-150 Lightning Pickup Plant, UAW Memo Says

wsj.com

5 points·sam345··7 comments

>“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that our sales for the Lightning have tanked,” the union leader wrote in the memo...

Very bad news for Ford. This was their hoped for EV flagship as they attempt to transition. Struggling even with the huge subsidies, favorable PR, and price reductions

Ford isn’t going to be able to sell EV trucks to a consumer cohort that doesn’t want them. That’s why the Cybertruck is so exciting. Tesla went after a persona that wasn’t served, one that also tilts younger. Most people buy a pickup to social signal, not for actual truck use. So Ford’s loss here may be Tesla’s gain, won’t know until that model is shipping at commercial volumes.

Very similar to how Harley Davidson tried to sell an EV bike (Livewire) to their existing customer base that is getting older and dying out, and had to spin it out as its own brand instead.

Automotive purchases are highly emotional, so if you want to move the metal, you have to sell according to the emotions your buyers have.

https://www.thedrive.com/news/26907/you-dont-need-a-full-siz...

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/27/harley-davidson-spins-off-li...

https://archive.ph/KPiub

https://archive.li/KPiub

First gen product with a ridiculous MSRP made worse by extreme dealer markups.

Some people plonked down $100k++ for these and will be selling them in two years for $35k.

And I'm not seeing many Mach Es on the road either.

Remember when the internet said Ford and GM would crush Tesla? LOL

It's amazing how short signed Ford franchised dealers are. They're going to wreck Ford's EV business and allow Tesla to win by default.

Tesla knew this the entire time, and why they fought so hard against a dealer model.

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