(NewsNation) — Ford Motor Co. told its dealers that it was cutting production for the F-150 Lightning in half, according to an Automotive News report.
The demand for the EV truck was not as high as Ford expected, which led to the plan of decreasing production in 2024, according to a spokesperson for Ford.
Only 20,365 of the trucks were reported sold this year through November, an increase of 54% from 2022.
In November, Ford announced that due to slowing electric vehicle sales growth, it will scale back the factory’s size, cutting the number of planned jobs by about one third to 1,700 from 2,500.
They are also scaling back construction on a Michigan electric vehicle battery plant that the company postponed during a strike by the United Auto Workers union.
In total, companies have announced more than $92 billion in EV investments since Biden signed the IRA last August, according to the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).
However, Ford and other automakers continue to experience slow EV demand, and reports show that hybrid cars are gaining traction instead.
An Edmunds report revealed that sales of traditional hybrid electric vehicles, or HEV’s, are outpacing EV’s in 2023.
HEV’s accounted for 8.3% of US car sales, about 1.2 million vehicles, sold through November of 2023, which is a 2.8% increase compared to last year.
Meanwhile, EV’s accounted for 6.9% of US car sales through November, about 976,560 vehicles, a 1.7% increase compared to last year.