Ford’s electric F-150 Lightning just got much cheaper

Ford announced on Monday that it is slashing prices significantly for its electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck. Since the F-150 Lightning’s release in mid-2021, the auto manufacturer has raised prices several times, citing in part “significant material cost increases” for key electric vehicle battery components like lithium, cobalt, and nickel. And Ford (F) isn’t alone. Tesla (TSLA) has also had to increase prices for a number of its models. But automotive research company Kelley Blue Book estimates that new EV prices peaked last year and have been slowly but consistently decreasing since late 2022, thanks in part to federal tax incentives and declining lithium prices. Ford is slashing the cost of the base model, the Pro, by some $10,000, down to just under $50,000 but still above the initial $40,000 price tag. The Platinum Extended Range, its most expensive model, is down more than $6,000 to about $92,000. Prices for all models are down by an average of about $8,000. Ford said the cuts are due to “increased plant capacity, continued work on scaling production and cost, and improving battery raw material costs.” The company added that one of its vehicle assembly plants in Michigan is undergoing final upgrades to triple its output starting this fall. “We’ve continued to work in the background to improve accessibility and affordability to help to lower prices for our customers and shorten the wait times for their new F-150 Lightning,” said Marin Gjaja, chief customer officer of Ford Model e, the part of the company that focuses on electric vehicles, in a statement. These models are also eligible for a tax credit of up to $7,500 under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, according to Ford. Customers can expect these cheaper cars to become available as early as October.