The EV scene in the US isn’t looking too flash at the moment, with Ford pausing production of the F-150 Lighting electric ute indefinitely, and Chevrolet killing off its Brightdrop electric van.
A fire at an aluminium factory in upstate New York in the middle of September has caused headaches for eight automakers, but Ford is the most highly affected as its F-150 range uses aluminium body panels to reduce weight.
In response to the fire, Ford slowed down F-150 production, and around October 13 pressed pause on the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center (REVC) that makes the F-150 Lightning.
Now the Blue Oval says production of the electric ute has been put on hold indefinitely, as it shifts those employees and plans to hire more workers to add an another shift to the main F-150 production line.
Despite these efforts, Ford expects production of the F-150 to fall by around 100,000 trucks in the fourth quarter, cutting its profit by between US$1.5 and US$2 billion (A$2.3 to A$3.1 billion) this year.
When Kumar Galhotra, Ford’s chief operating officer, was asked if the F-150 Lightning was being axed, he responded, “Whenever we’re ready, we’ll crank REVC back up”.
While Ford’s Australian showrooms stock F-150s that are locally converted to right-hand drive, the company doesn’t officially offer the Lightning Down Under. Queensland-based outfit AusEV has taken up the slack, locally remanufacturing and selling the Lightning.
Meanwhile crosstown rival General Motors has some good news and some bad news to share with EV fans.
One the one hand, it is welcoming an updated Chevrolet Bolt to the fold after a production pause of two years. During that time GM has tweaked the styling, and reworked the electrical package to include a lithium-iron phosphate battery and faster charging.
While the Bolt, with its sub-US$30,000 (A$46,000) price, will duke it out with the Nissan Leaf at the bottom end of the US EV market, the Chevrolet Brightdrop electric van occupies a much more expensive niche, with prices beginning at US$75,300 (A$115,300).
Although it’s around the same price as Rivian’s EDV (electric delivery van), it’s roughly US$20,000 (A$30,000) more expensive than competitors from Ford and Ram.
So far this year, Chevrolet has sold around 4000 Brightdrop vans, most of them in the lead up to the expiry of the US federal government’s US$7500 (A$11,500) EV tax credit at the end of September.
To put that into context, Chevrolet sold 43,637 Express vans in the same period. The V8-powered Express was launched in 1996 and it has been facelifted once, in 2003.
In response to the end of the US government’s electric vehicle tax incentive, some manufacturers are cutting EV prices, and all are braced for a slump in sales.
GM confirmed Chevrolet’s decision to axe the Brightdrop van in an earnings call this week.