Ford is shifting gears, suspending production of its key electric pickup, the F‑150 Lightning, as it redirects focus toward higher-margin gas and hybrid versions of its F-Series lineup.
The Detroit-based automaker is making the move in response to a fire at the Novelis Inc. aluminum plant in Oswego, New York, on September 16, which disrupted a large portion of Ford’s aluminium sheet supply for its flagship F-Series trucks.
With aluminium now in short supply, Ford is opting to expand its production of less-aluminium-intensive gas and hybrid trucks, which also deliver stronger profit margins.
In early 2026, Ford plans to build an additional 50,000 trucks to compensate for the lost productivity caused by the Oswego incident. In doing so, the company will redeploy employees from its Rouge Electric Vehicle Center — where the F-150 Lightning is assembled — to its Dearborn Truck Plant for gas-powered F-150 production.
At the same time, Ford is investing US$60 million into its Kentucky Truck Plant to boost output by roughly one extra truck per hour — adding more than 5,000 units annually. This expansion includes hiring approximately 900 new workers (about 100 at the Kentucky site and 800 + at Dearborn) to support the shift.
While Ford has not set a definite timeline for restarting Lightning production, the electric version’s momentum appears to be waning. Q3 sales of the Lightning were marginally up, yet the volume remains small compared to gas and hybrid F-Series trucks.
Meanwhile, Ford sold nearly 200,000 gas and hybrid F-Series trucks last quarter alone and has nearly 600,000 units through the end of September — up approximately 13 % year-over-year. The company appears to be doubling down on its bread-and-butter models.
