Ford F-150 LightningMark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
Ford Motor F-N deepened a price war in the electric-vehicle industry on Monday by slashing the prices of its F-150 Lightning trucks, including by $15,000 off the base model, as it aims to boost its share of an EV market dominated by Tesla TSLA-Q.
The base Pro variant now carries a suggested retail price of $59,000 (U.S.$49,995) plus fees and delivery, compared to its prior price of $74,000. The XLT versions are lowered by $10,000 to $69,000 and $85,000 depending on range. The top-level Platinum Extended Range drops to $115,000 from $121,000. For U.S. customers, the models will now start between $49,995 and $91,995 — down from $59,974 to $98,074.
Shares of Ford F-N were down about 5 per cent in afternoon trade. Rival General Motors GM-N also fell about 3 per cent, while EV maker Rivian RIVN-Q was down about 4 per cent. Tesla’s TSLA-Q shares were up 2 per cent after the company built its first Cybertruck at its Austin plant.
The Detroit automaker, which had raised Lightning prices earlier this year, said it was able to cut prices on improvements in scale and battery raw material costs.
The move comes amid a price war started by Tesla a few months ago, which has seen the EVs of legacy automakers piling up at dealers as sales slow in the U.S. In the quarter through June, Ford’s EV sales fell 2.8 per cent.
“Shortly after launching the F-150 Lightning, rapidly rising material costs, supply constraints and other factors drove up the cost of the EV truck for Ford and our customers,” said Marin Gjaja, chief customer officer, Ford Model e.
“We’ve continued to work in the background to improve accessibility and affordability.”
Ford also said it has temporarily closed its Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Michigan to complete final plant upgrades as it aims to triple the facility’s annual run rate to 150,000 Lightning trucks, beginning this fall.
Though pricing will always be a meaningful driver, getting from a $3-billion loss rate for the Ford Model e to breaking even will require the lion’s share to come from scale, BNP Paribas Exane analyst, James Picariello said.
Battery raw material prices have been one of the factors that pushed up EV prices. But prices of cobalt and lithium, crucial for EV batteries, have declined. Analysts expect commodity costs to drop further in the second half of the year.
Ford has also strengthened its sourcing options and unveiled new supply deals for battery-grade lithium earlier this year.
With files from Globe staff.