We 'Totally Would've Done It Differently': Ford CEO On The Failure Of The F-150 Lightning

"I totally would've done it differently. I mean, look, we didn't know what we didn't know. Ford aggressively ramped up production capacity to meet the demand that it expected out of the Lightning. That was an expensive, complicated process. Eventually, the consumer demand just kind of fizzled until production of the current-gen truck ended in December 2025."

"To be fair, the F-150 Lightning didn't crater. It was the best-selling electric truck on the market for most of its time in production. It exists. It works and does what a pickup truck is supposed to do. Customers love them. But it failed to become that electric tidal wave that Ford and fans anticipated when it first launched the truck."

"Part of the issue was the price. Farley said that Covid proved to be a false signal that allowed automakers to sell vehicles at prices 30 to 40% higher than they could pre-Covid."

Ford CEO Jim Farley revealed that the automaker would have approached the F-150 Lightning differently given current market knowledge. While the Lightning became the best-selling electric truck and functions as intended with satisfied customers, it failed to generate the massive adoption wave Ford anticipated. The company aggressively expanded production capacity based on inflated demand projections, resulting in significant expenses. Demand eventually declined, leading to production cessation in December 2025, just three years after launch. Pricing emerged as a critical issue, with Farley noting that COVID-era pricing allowed automakers to charge 30-40% higher prices than pre-pandemic levels, creating unrealistic market expectations that couldn't be sustained.

Read at insideevs.com