Just two days following Tesla, Inc.'s tweet showcasing the first Cybertruck rolling off the production line, Ford Motor Company made a move to cut the prices of its F-150 Electric Lightning pickup truck.
The Wall Street Journal reported Monday morning that Ford had reduced the price of the Lightning Pro by almost $10,000 to $49,995 (a 17% discount). The highest-end version of the EV truck, the Platinum Extended Range F-150 Lightning, was reduced by $6,000 to $91,995.
The Lightning pickup truck has encountered its fair share of problems. Shipments of the EV truck were halted earlier this year due to 'battery issues.' We shared footage of the EV fire that prompted Ford to stop production for nearly a month.
Marin Gjaja, chief customer officer of Ford's electric-vehicle business, told WSJ that supply chain issues and rising material costs had driven the cost of the EV truck up over the last year. Ford has raised the MSRP of its EV trucks multiple times in the last year (read: here & here). The carmaker appears to be sacrificing margins to compete with Tesla amid the price war.
WSJ noted:
The move comes after Tesla -- which had a 60% US market share in electric vehicles this year through June, according to Motor Intelligence -- reported a surge in second-quarter deliveries that was helped by sharp price cuts and discounts rolled out earlier this year. Also over the weekend, Tesla began production of its Cybertruck nearly four years after the prototype was introduced.
Earlier this year, Ford cut Mustang Mach-E electric SUV prices after Tesla lowered its Model Y price.
In January, we were among the first to note that Tesla's weaponization of price cuts was a move to crush EV competition.
Ford shares are down about 1% in premarket trading in New York following the news of price cuts.
Perhaps the price cuts also suggest demand issues...
