Ford has cancelled all 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning dealer stock orders in Canada and the United States. They also confirmed they are delaying deliveries of existing 2023 stock for quality checks.
Ford noted that the delivery delay was so that additional quality checks could be made on the vehicles. The company also confirmed that the electric pickups will be returned to Ford’s Rouge Electric Vehicle Center instead of completing the check at the dealership level.
Cancelling dealer stock orders is not uncommon. Especially as Ford recently announced its 2024 lineup and is allowing dealers and clients to order 2024 stock instead of 2023.
In a statement to Jalopnik, a Ford spokesperson noted:
As we ramp production of the F-150 Lightning, we are conducting additional quality checks at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center which has delayed MY23 deliveries. We are now working to match MY23 supply with demand as we prepare to change over to the MY24 model announced today. As a result, we have canceled some dealer stock orders not submitted as pre-sold for MY23 so dealers have the opportunity to order MY24 stock.
However, some dealers are now simply cancelling vehicle orders. On X (formerly Twitter), @CarDealershipGuy obtained an email from a Scarborough Ford dealer who noted they could not obtain the Ford F-150 Lightning that the customer ordered.
— CarDealershipGuy (@GuyDealership) October 1, 2023
So, what does this mean? Well, it could be that some dealers were playing fast and loose with vehicle allotment, and those dealers may have been relying on dealer stock orders rather than pre-sold vehicles to allocate sales. So, if you are still waiting for your vehicle, it might be time to touch base with your Ford sales rep and see what is happening with your specific vehicle.
At the same time that Ford is cancelling dealer stock and delaying deliveries, they announced a new variant of the Lightning this week. The F-150 Lightning Flash offers a 320 mile (515km) range priced at US$69,995.
