The Ford F-150 Lightning is the best-selling electric pickup in the country, but it doesn’t matter. The gas-burning F-150 and Super Duty are obviously much hotter sellers, and they are what Ford has chosen to prioritize while the automaker’s stock of aluminum is constrained after a fire at one of its suppliers’ facilities. Meanwhile, production for the all-electric truck will remain on hiatus into the new year.
Ford is pausing Lightning production indefinitely and choosing to divert its available aluminum toward the internal-combustion and hybrid F-Series products, which use less of the metal and are less plentiful on dealer lots.
Ford spokesperson Sam Schembari told The Drive, “F-150 Lightning is the best-selling electric pickup truck in the U.S. – despite new competition from CyberTruck, Chevy, GMC, Hummer and Rivian – and delivered record sales in Q3. Right now, we’re focused on producing F-150 ICE and Hybrid as we recover from the fire at Novelis. We have good inventories of the F-150 Lightning and will bring Rouge Electric Vehicle Center (REVC) back up at the right time, but don’t have an exact date at this time.”
Ford’s been managing this problem since September 16, when a fire at its aluminum supplier, Novelis, based in Oswego, New York, shut down its hot mill. The supplier doesn’t expect it to be operational again until December, and Ford expects the downtime could cost it as much as $2 billion. In response, the automaker plans to increase regular F-150 production early next year and temporarily move staff from REVC, where the Lightning is built, to the Dearborn plant, where the other trucks are made.
This is one of several manufacturing setbacks the F-150 Lightning has faced during its relatively short existence. Almost exactly a year ago, Ford temporarily stopped building the electric pickup because of low demand and excess dealer stock. Back in early 2023, it was stopped for a shorter time due to “a battery issue.”
This story was updated with an official comment from Ford