Ford’s F-150 Lightning is losing ground in the US with new electric pickups like the Tesla Cybertruck and Chevy Silverado EV now available. Although Ford plans to launch smaller, more affordable EVs, including an SUV and pickup, they won’t arrive for (at least) another two years. With new threats, including a wave of lower-cost EVs and Trump threatening to impose tariffs on imports from Mexico, will Ford’s aging lineup set it further behind?
Ford Lightning falls behind in aging EV lineup
It’s been almost three years since the first F-150 Lightning models rolled out of Ford’s Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan.
Aside from the Rivian R1T, the Lightning was among the first electric pickups available in the US. Rivian delivered the first R1T models in October 2021. The first Lightning customers received their vehicles in May 2022.
Despite setting a new January EV sales record, Ford sold fewer Lightning models than last year. Last month, sales slipped 15.5% to just 1,907, compared to 2,258 in January 2024.
The Mustang Mach-E was the primary reason behind Ford’s higher EV sales last month. Ford sold 3,529 Mach-Es in January, up 172% from the 1,295 sold last year.
After falling behind GM in the US electric vehicle market last year, Ford launched significant incentives toward the end of the year to boost sales. In October, Ford introduced its “Power Promise” program, giving all EV buyers a free Level 2 home charger worth $2,000. It extended the promotion last month after sales jumped 16% in Q4.
According to Edmunds (viaBloomberg), Mach-E models sat on the lot for an average of over three months before the incentive, nearly 20% longer than the average EV.
Ford Mustang Mach-E (left) and F-150 Lightning (right) (Source: Ford)
New threats emerging
Ford’s aging Lightning and Mach-E are already falling behind new EV competitors like the Tesla Cybertruck and Honda Prologue.
According to Cox Automotive’s2024 EV sales report, Tesla sold 38,965 Cybertrucks in the US last year, beating out the Lightning at 33,510. Even the new electric Chevy Silverado is catching up.
Chevy Silverado EV LT trim (Source: Chevrolet)
After the lower-priced LT trim began arriving at dealerships in October, GM sold 2,176 Silverado EVs in the final three months of 2024, for a total of 7,428. Later this year, Ram will launch its first electric pickup, the Ram 1500 REV.
Ford is betting on a new low-cost EV platform as it looks to keep pace with global leaders like Tesla and BYD. The new platform, under development by a team of former Tesla, Lucid, Rivian, and Apple execs in California, will underpin a series of smaller, more affordable EVs.
All-electric Ford Explorer in Europe (Source: Ford)
The first models are expected to be a smaller electric crossover SUV and pickup, starting at under $30,000. However, the new EVs are not expected to arrive until at least 2027.
By then, Ford will face stiff competition with Rivian launching its smaller R2, Volkswagen’s Scout brand arriving, etc.
Rivian R2 electric SUV (Source: Rivian)
With Trump threatening a 25% tariff on imports from Mexico, where the Mustang Mach-E is built, Ford could face more headwinds this year.
Electrek’s Take
Ford has already pushed back several significant electric vehicle models and other projects. Last year, it dropped plans to build a three-row electric SUV, which CEO Jim Farley once described as a “personal bullet train.”
The larger SUV was expected to launch this year, but instead, rivals like Hyundai, Kia, Lucid, and Volvo are taking advantage with new three-row electric SUVs (IONIQ 9, EV90, Gravity, and EX90) arriving in the US this year.
After delivering the first models last March, Honda’s Prologue already outsold the Ford Mustang Mach-E last month.
Ford’s Model e electric vehicle unit lost around $5 billion last year and is expected to continue racking up the losses in 2025. Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas forecasts similar losses at around $4.8 million this year.
We will learn more tomorrow when Ford reports its fourth-quarter earnings. Check back for a breakdown of the report.
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They may not purr like a well-tuned diesel, but Pet Valu has added two brand-new, whisper-quiet Volvo VNR Electric semi trucks to its growing logistics fleet as part of the company’s ongoing effort to transform its supply chain into one that’s more efficient, and more sustainable.
Pet Valu is one of Canada’s leading specialty retailers, offering a wide variety of pet food, toys, and and other fur-and-feather friendly supplies to keep pets healthy and happy. Part of the company’s efforts to deliver on that happy/healthy promise is in reducing ground-level air pollution, and these new, zero-tailpipe emission electric semi trucks will help Pet Valu achieve that vision.
“At Pet Valu, we are committed to continuously improving how we serve devoted pet lovers and their pets,” explains Nico Weidel, chief supply chain officer, Pet Valu. “Each electric delivery truck represents an opportunity to avoid consuming over 25,000 liters of diesel fuel or over 62 tonnes of CO2 (emissions) per year. We’re excited to explore how these trucks perform and assess the potential for further electrification of our delivery fleet in the future.”
Pet Valu spec’ed out its new Class 8 Volvo VNR Electric day cab trucks with the 565 kWh six-battery pack configuration, offering route drivers an operating range of up to 442 kilometers (about 275 miles) per charge. And, while Volvo’s VNRs are capable of ultra-fast charging, these trucks will power up overnight overnight at the company’s Surrey distribution center an a newly installed 120 kW charger.
In addition to deploying the trucks, the Volvo Trucks team worked closely with Pet Valu to identify and secure additional funding opportunities to help offset the high up-front cost of the battery-electric semis, including federal (Canadian) and provincial incentive programs Clean BC – Go Electric and iMHZEV (incentives for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Zero-Emission Vehicles).
“We are excited to see Pet Valu taking the initiative in the Canadian pet supply industry by adopting Volvo’s VNR Electric trucks,” says Matthew Blackman, managing director for Canada, Volvo Trucks North America. “As they venture into sustainable transportation, this effort is expected to not only strengthen their supply chain but also help support a healthier planet, one ‘purr-fectly’ quiet kilometer at a time.”
And, yes: we made the same joke. (I stand by it.)
Electrek’s Take
Volvo VNR Electric semi deployed by 3PL Martin Brower; via McDonald’s.
Consulting firm TRC has made a name for itself in the clean trucking space both for managing the ACT Expo and helping commercial fleets navigate the increasingly complex world of ZEV incentives. This week, the company reached a major milestone: $2 billion in funding!
Over the last few years, GNA (which was acquired by TRC in 2023) has developed and submitted more than 650 successful grant applications and funding requests on behalf of its clients, helping them to achieve their environmental and sustainability goals while saving money on total cost of ownership in the process.
“We feel privileged to assist forward-thinking companies to achieve their goals to develop and demonstrate the commercial use of some of the most cutting-edge and advanced technologies in the marketplace today,” said Erik Neandross, President, Clean Transportation Solutions at TRC. “Managing multi-million-dollar grant applications can be daunting, but our team’s tenacity and knowledge ensures that our clients will successfully achieve their objectives while they remain focused on their core business activities.”
Noteworthy projects that received funding through TRC’s support include:
Over $40 million for the JETSI Project, which deployed 100 zero-emission Class 8 trucks across Southern California to operationalize zero-emission freight movement at scale.
$44 million for Volvo LIGHTS, an initiative that implemented a blueprint for the complete ecosystem needed to successfully deploy commercial battery-electric trucks.
$5 million for Mariposa County Resource Conservation District to develop, demonstrate and deploy environmentally and economically sustainable biomass-to-energy systems for the forest and food waste sectors.
$6.5 million for Foster Farms for projects to modify parking yards with EV charging parking stalls and implement emissions-reducing mechanical upgrades at five Foster Farms plants.
$4.4 million for Otter Tail Power Company to enhance grid resiliency with next-generation technology.
TRC’s efforts have helped clients to tap funding from sources such as Volkswagen Settlement Funds, Federal Highway Administration, DOE, South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD), California Air Resources Board (CARB), California Energy Commission (CEC), Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) programs, and others.
Electrek’s Take
Joe Annotti is a senior executive dedicated to clean transportation and energy independence initiatives at TRC, and has been a great guest on several of my podcasts – most recently Quick Charge on the Electrek Daily channel. You can check out that episode, above, then let us know what you think of TRC’s fleet decarbonization efforts in the comments.
SOURCE | IMAGES: TRC; photo by the author.
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The Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore has announced a first for the contemporary American maritime industry: a battery-electric rail car mover that can organize the rail yard without dirtying up the air around it.
Built by the Marmon Rail’s Italian Zephir division, the LOK 16.150E model rail car mover features an 80-volt rechargeable battery pack sending current to a pair of 40 kW (about 50 hp) high-torque brushless motors. That may not sound like a lot in a world of 650 hp Kias and 1000 hp Teslas, but it’s enough to generate a drawbar pull (read: towing force) of more than 39,000 lbs. … all while generating zero tailpipe emissions.
Wallenius Wilhelmsen is using the Zephir to move rail cars loaded with heavy lift, farm and construction equipment, and military cargo within the Dundalk Marine Terminal, and claims it will remove over 180 tons of harmful carbon emissions per year.
You can check out the promotional video released by the Port of Baltimore to celebrate the Zephir’s deployment, below, then let us know what you think in the comments.
If you want to learn more about the Pennsylvania Railroads’ 100-year lead on electric rail car switcher technology, check out this article on Railfan, which includes the photos below plus a whole lot more.