Ford (F - Free Report) will cut one of the two production shifts at its Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Michigan that builds the all-electric F-150 Lightning. The company intends to match customer demand by lowering production. The announcement came amid slower-than-expected customer demand for electric vehicles (“EVs”).
The U.S. legacy automaker has been manufacturing the F-150 Lightning since April 2022. In 2023, the company sold 24,000 F-150 Lightning units. This represented a small fraction of Ford's overall F-series pickup sales, which exceeded 750,000 units.
Sales of F-150 Lightning increased 55% year over year in 2023. While the company expects further growth in the model’s sales this year, reportedly, it is not likely to reach the 150,000-production rate targeted during the plant's upgrade last year.
Although the F-150 Lightning is eligible for $7,500 in federal EV tax credits, the price of the vehicle is still higher than the $34,000 base price of the gas-powered truck. Ford has changed the price of Lightning several times since 2022.
The decrease in production of the F-150 Lightning will impact 1,400 workers. Half of these workers will be transferred to the Michigan Assembly Plant, where Ford will increase the production of gasoline-powered Ford Bronco and Ranger models. Other workers will be shifted to nearby plants or are expected to avail of the “Special Retirement Incentive Program” as per the 2023 Ford-United Auto Workers agreement.
Last year, Bronco and Ranger sales went down 9.7% and 43.3%, respectively. The factory that manufactures both vehicles was affected by a six-week United Automobile Workers strike. The company will add a third shift to its Michigan Assembly Plant this summer to increase the production of Bronco and Ranger. It will add 900 jobs to this plant.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
F currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked players in the auto space are Volvo (VLVLY - Free Report) , Bridgestone Corporation (BRDCY - Free Report) and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (HMC - Free Report) . VLVLY and BRDCY sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), and HMC carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for VLVLY’s 2023 sales and earnings suggests year-over-year growth of 4.2% and 73.1%, respectively. The EPS estimates for 2023 and 2024 have improved by 4 cents and 3 cents, respectively, in the past 30 days.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BRDCY’s 2023 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 5.3%. The EPS estimate for 2024 has moved up by 8 cents in the past 60 days.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HMC’s 2024 sales and earnings suggests year-over-year growth of 14.8% and 35%, respectively. The EPS estimate for 2024 has improved by 9 cents in the past 30 days. The EPS estimate for 2025 has improved by 7 cents in the past seven days.
Top 5 ChatGPT Stocks Revealed
Zacks Senior Stock Strategist, Kevin Cook names 5 hand-picked stocks with sky-high growth potential in a brilliant sector of Artificial Intelligence. By 2030, the AI industry is predicted to have an internet and iPhone-scale economic impact of $15.7 Trillion.
Today you can invest in the wave of the future, an automation that answers follow-up questions … admits mistakes … challenges incorrect premises … rejects inappropriate requests. As one of the selected companies puts it, “Automation frees people from the mundane so they can accomplish the miraculous.”
Download Free ChatGPT Stock Report Right Now >>
Ford (F - Free Report) will cut one of the two production shifts at its Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Michigan that builds the all-electric F-150 Lightning. The company intends to match customer demand by lowering production. The announcement came amid slower-than-expected customer demand for electric vehicles (“EVs”).
The U.S. legacy automaker has been manufacturing the F-150 Lightning since April 2022. In 2023, the company sold 24,000 F-150 Lightning units. This represented a small fraction of Ford's overall F-series pickup sales, which exceeded 750,000 units.
Sales of F-150 Lightning increased 55% year over year in 2023. While the company expects further growth in the model’s sales this year, reportedly, it is not likely to reach the 150,000-production rate targeted during the plant's upgrade last year.
Although the F-150 Lightning is eligible for $7,500 in federal EV tax credits, the price of the vehicle is still higher than the $34,000 base price of the gas-powered truck. Ford has changed the price of Lightning several times since 2022.
The decrease in production of the F-150 Lightning will impact 1,400 workers. Half of these workers will be transferred to the Michigan Assembly Plant, where Ford will increase the production of gasoline-powered Ford Bronco and Ranger models. Other workers will be shifted to nearby plants or are expected to avail of the “Special Retirement Incentive Program” as per the 2023 Ford-United Auto Workers agreement.
Last year, Bronco and Ranger sales went down 9.7% and 43.3%, respectively. The factory that manufactures both vehicles was affected by a six-week United Automobile Workers strike. The company will add a third shift to its Michigan Assembly Plant this summer to increase the production of Bronco and Ranger. It will add 900 jobs to this plant.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
F currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked players in the auto space are Volvo (VLVLY - Free Report) , Bridgestone Corporation (BRDCY - Free Report) and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (HMC - Free Report) . VLVLY and BRDCY sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), and HMC carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for VLVLY’s 2023 sales and earnings suggests year-over-year growth of 4.2% and 73.1%, respectively. The EPS estimates for 2023 and 2024 have improved by 4 cents and 3 cents, respectively, in the past 30 days.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BRDCY’s 2023 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 5.3%. The EPS estimate for 2024 has moved up by 8 cents in the past 60 days.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HMC’s 2024 sales and earnings suggests year-over-year growth of 14.8% and 35%, respectively. The EPS estimate for 2024 has improved by 9 cents in the past 30 days. The EPS estimate for 2025 has improved by 7 cents in the past seven days.
Top 5 ChatGPT Stocks Revealed
Zacks Senior Stock Strategist, Kevin Cook names 5 hand-picked stocks with sky-high growth potential in a brilliant sector of Artificial Intelligence. By 2030, the AI industry is predicted to have an internet and iPhone-scale economic impact of $15.7 Trillion.
Today you can invest in the wave of the future, an automation that answers follow-up questions … admits mistakes … challenges incorrect premises … rejects inappropriate requests. As one of the selected companies puts it, “Automation frees people from the mundane so they can accomplish the miraculous.”
Download Free ChatGPT Stock Report Right Now >>
Get the latest research report on F - FREE
Get the latest research report on HMC - FREE
Get the latest research report on BRDCY - FREE
Get the latest research report on VLVLY - FREE