As EV wars heat up, Ford slashes F 150 Lightning’s price

Ford  war by slashing the prices of its F-150 Lightning trucks, including a 17% discount for the base model.

The price cut by Ford Motor Co. aims to boost its share in the EV market, which Tesla dominates.

The US-based automotive giant, which had increased Lightning prices earlier this year, said it was able to slash the prices following improvements in battery raw material costs and scale. In the quarter through June 2023, Ford’s EV sales decreased by 2.8%.

The Ford F-150 Lightning’s base Pro variant now retails at a suggested price of $49,995, compared with its prior price of $59,974, while the top-end Platinum model retails at $91,995, a drop of 6.2% compared to its previous price.

The price cut comes amid a price war that Tesla started  a few months ago, as a result of which legacy automakers have seen their EVs pile up at dealers as sales slow.

To add fuel to an already blazing fire, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted that the Ford Lightning was a good vehicle but somewhat expensive, especially given the current high interest rates for any kind of loan.

On Monday, the Chief Customer Officer at Ford Model E, Marin Gjaja, said that shortly after launching the F-150 Lightning, the rising supply chain challenges, rapidly rising material costs, and other factors drove up the cost of the EV truck for the automaker and its customers. He added that they have continued to work in the background to improve the affordability and accessibility of the EV.