F-150 Update -- Stealth Launch -- September 13, 2023

Locator: 45629EVS.

EV sales growth slows: link here. 

Hybrids: fake EVs. Link here.

The all-electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck gets a lot of attention, but make no mistake the traditional truck is still Ford’s more important vehicle.

Ford Motor launched the newly redesigned 2024 F-150s on Tuesday evening, September 12, 2023. The launch is intended to extend Ford’s lead in the key truck segment of the U.S. automotive market.

The importance of the F-150 to Ford can’t be understated. It’s been the best-selling vehicle in the U.S. for some 40-plus years and the best-selling truck for almost 50. Through the end of August, Ford has sold 514,716 F-150s in America, up 22% year over year and accounting for about 38% of Ford’s U.S. total sales.

Buried:

The all-electric F-150 Lightning was launched with a lot of fanfare in 2022, but sales are stuck at roughly 2% of total F-150 units. Manufacturing problems have hurt Ford’s ability to deliver more.

And more:

Lightnings aren’t the only F-150s with batteries, however. About 10% of F-150 sales in 2023 are hybrids. “We’re looking to double our mix of hybrid sales … to at least 20% next year,” says Andrew Frick, vice president of Ford’s traditional car unit, Ford Blue.

Ford is cutting the price of 2024 hybrid models by some $2,000 to help make that happen.