Ford F-150 Lightning Manufacturing Hits A Pace Bump

The Ford F-150 Lightning was purported to be the Blue Oval’s large EV win. I imply, you’re taking the best-selling automobile within the U.S., convert it to electrical, and unleash it on the plenty. Certainly that is a recipe for achievement, proper? And in some ways, it has been—simply with gross sales, however not a lot earnings. 

Now, Ford is now idling manufacturing of the Lightning all through the top of the yr to “alter manufacturing for an optimum mixture of gross sales progress and profitability.” In different phrases, Ford appears to be ready for sellers to promote extra of what is on tons earlier than it cranks out extra. 

Welcome again to Essential Supplies, your day by day roundup for all issues EV and automotive tech. In the present day, we’re chatting about Ford plans to idle F-150 Lightning manufacturing all through the top of 2024, Scout’s use of Rivian’s software program, and BYD overtaking Tesla’s income. Let’s bounce in.

30%: Ford Is Idling F-150 Lightning Manufacturing For The Relaxation Of The 12 months

Ford is hitting the brakes—figuratively and actually—on manufacturing of the Ford F-150 Lightning all through the top of the yr. The transfer indicators one other sudden bump within the street for the electrified model of America’s best-selling truck, sparking questions on whether or not or not the Lightning hype prepare has formally left the station. In a press release to Automotive Information, Ford confirmed that the manufacturing pause will begin in mid-November and is deliberate to final seven weeks (inclusive of a typical pre-planned, one-week vacation trip). Meeting will resume in January. 

The F-150 Lightning is an extremely vital EV for Ford. In Truth, Ford’s CEO, Jim Farley, and Government Chair, Invoice Ford, in contrast the pickup to the Twenty first-century Mannequin T. It was heralded because the gateway for Ford’s EV transition, although adoption has confirmed slower than anticipated. Actually, the automaker has already scaled again manufacturing targets to half of what was initially anticipated for 2024 and slashed two-thirds of the workforce on the Rouge Electrical Car Middle the place the Lightning is assembled.

One other slap within the face has come instantly from Tesla. The F-150 Lightning, regardless of gross sales being up 86%, misplaced its title of best-selling EV pickup to the Cybertruck and the F-Collection pickup as an entire is susceptible to shedding its 42-year crown as best-selling automobile in America to the Tesla Mannequin Y. Granted, these Cybertruck gross sales have largely been the success of years of orders, so it is going to be a number of months earlier than we see if it has long-term juice or not. 

In accordance with knowledge from Cox Automotive cited by Automotive Information, Ford has a 100-day provide of F-150s on-hand on the finish of September. Usually, sellers need automobiles on tons for 30-60 days at most. The agency did not specify a particular estimate for the Lightning, particularly, however did point out a 128-day provide of the Ford E-Transit and a 130-day provide of Mustang Mach-Es. This fall is traditionally a terrific quarter for automakers, so Ford seemingly has a big surplus of Lightnings that it is hoping to filter throughout this time. However regardless of the way you form it, that extra provide is not precisely a terrific search for Ford’s EV program.

The automaker can also be going through some moderately giant losses in its EV division. It revealed that it is greater than $5 billion within the gap, together with a greater than $1 billion loss on a canceled three-row SUV that was realized final quarter. Ford says that it has since slashed EV-related prices by $500 million.

Nonetheless, Farley stays optimistic about the way forward for Ford’s EV program. In the course of the firm’s third-quarter earnings name, Farley stated that he “wouldn’t commerce” the model’s EV technique for any of the Blue Oval’s rivals. And, regardless of the “sluggish uptake of EVs,” Ford believes that their strikes will assist to create a strong long-term foothold in the marketplace.

60%: Scout Will Use Rivian’s Zonal Structure, Too

Picture by: Scout Motors

Volkswagen’s newest sub-brand, Scout Motors, appears to be like prefer it’s about to tug off one of many greatest wins for VW’s U.S. operations in a very very long time. Its secret? Nicely, other than re-using a basic American nameplate with some very customer-focused autos, is a brand new high-tech partnership that it is borrowing from its mum or dad firm.

We’re speaking about that fancy-pants new “zonal structure” strategy that is all the trend in up-and-coming EVs. In case you missed it, Volkswagen introduced it is shacking up with Rivian in a $5 billion software program deal that features improvement, licensing, and use of Rivian’s zonal structure.

Scout’s CEO advised InsideEVs that their autos are seemingly to make use of the zonal structure developed in that three way partnership—however not something present from Rivian. That was confirmed this week by Rivian’s Chief Software program Officer, Wassym Bensaid, revealed that Scout would, the truth is, reap the benefits of this tech sharing throughout a dialogue at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024:

The working system shall be a part of the Scout product[s] just like different merchandise from VW manufacturers, whether or not it is Porsche, whether or not it is Bentley, Lamborghini, or VW. Once more every model will proceed to have its personal identification [and] options.

So what precisely is zonal structure, and why do you have to care? It is the subsequent large factor within the automotive world—altering the fundamental method {that a} automotive thinks and talks to elements.

Most automobiles right this moment run a mesh of difficult wiring and harnesses from particular person controllers to elements (suppose: a powertrain ECU, a Physique Management Module to manage window switches, and ones for HVAC, ABS, HVAC, Airbags, and the checklist goes on). Consider it like an organized mess of spaghetti that is sort of tying the entire electrical elements beneath the hood to their brains.

Rivian Zonal Structure

A automobile with a zonal structure community as a substitute hyperlinks actuators to native controllers that speak on a central community. That is extra like organizing elements into particular person rooms inside a home and helps to chop down on wiring by an element of miles in some automobiles and tremendously reduces {the electrical} complexity in change for extra software program—however, hey, Software program Outlined Autos are the long run, in spite of everything.

Rivian and VW formally solidified their joint effort on software program earlier this yr with an preliminary $1 billion in up-front funding provided by the Germans and a pledge for one more $4 billion afterward. Collectively, the three way partnership will assist Volkswagen do one thing that it hasn’t been capable of do for fairly a while—get the software program proper. It has been one of many firm’s greatest burdens regardless of the automaker having a close-knit software program staff, Cariad, at its fingertips. Maybe with Rivian dealing with the underlying OS and electrical structure, the automaker can dig itself out of its digital gap.

As for Rivian, properly, they appear enamored with the thought of Scout (and the possibly profitable income the three way partnership will get from the licensing deal.) The partnership may not finish with Volkswagen, as Bensaid hinted that Rivian may already be in talks with one other automaker to make use of its zonal structure as properly, and will drop extra information as early as “subsequent yr.”

90%: BYD Simply Made Extra Cash Than Tesla For The First Time Ever

Picture by: BYD

Chinese language automaker BYD has been butting up towards Tesla’s crown for a while now. The 2 EV giants have duked it out for the higher a part of a yr with Tesla adamant on holding its main place. Nonetheless, it appears to be like like BYD is placing some main stress on Tesla as its quarterly earnings leapfrogged Tesla’s for the primary time ever in Q3 2024.

BYD’s quarterly income shot up by 24% in Q3, hitting a large $28.2 billion over the course of simply three months. Surprisingly, this quantity was really much less than analysts anticipated, however it nonetheless managed to beat out Tesla’s nonetheless spectacular $25.2 billion in international gross sales over the identical interval.

In whole, BYD bought 1,129,256 automobiles—443,426 of which had been battery-electric. Tesla bought 462,890 over the identical interval, or 4.4% extra EVs than BYD, however 59% fewer autos total. Tesla’s market cap is 698% increased than BYD’s, bolstered primarily by its guarantees of AI and full self-driving. That being stated, regardless of BYD’s income being increased than Tesla’s, the Chinese language automaker’s web earnings really fell brief. BYD posted $1.6 billion in earnings, which, whereas spectacular, was lower than Tesla’s $2.2 billion.

Do not get it twisted, BYD is not accomplished but. Actually, its finest quarter of the yr could possibly be underway proper now. Bloomberg has the inside track:

Earnings prospects for BYD within the closing quarter look even stronger because it advantages from its main gross sales place in China, the world’s greatest automotive market. The final three months of any yr are often the peak buying season, and on high of subsidies, central authorities companies have been ordered to spice up EV purchases.

BYD can also be on monitor to satisfy its revised annual gross sales goal of 4 million autos, having bought round 2.74 million autos by September. Citibank Inc. estimates BYD may promote as many as 500,000 items per 30 days by November.

One factor that might throw a wrench BYD’s plans for EV domination are the worldwide tariffs being enacted to cease its enlargement of automobiles funded by “unfair subsidization.” The U.S. and Canada have each enacted 100% responsibility charges on Chinese language EVs (BYD does not at the moment promote passenger automobiles in both market) and Europe will quickly start to impose tariffs totaling 27% on BYD’s imports. The model additionally plans to increase its market share in Mexico into 2025 with a projected output of 100,000 automobiles.

100%: The place Did VW’s EV Program Go Fallacious?

Picture by: Volkswagen

I’ve stated it earlier than: I am an enormous fan of what Scout is doing. The VW spin-off is constructing a truck catered to its ultimate viewers, and all indicators are pointing to the model actually understanding its clients. However its mum or dad firm? Possibly not a lot.

Volkswagen is hurting. Like, dangerous. Vegetation are closing and its manufacturers aren’t incomes the cash they should keep afloat long-term. Its future hinges on the success of its EV packages. There’s only one drawback: shoppers aren’t biting.

Positive, driving the ID household of autos feels extra like working a microwave than a automotive, and there are software program bugs. Oh, and the ID Buzz is priced unreasonably for many shoppers. VW clearly misplaced its method someplace whereas creating its EV technique. The place precisely did issues go improper? Let me know your ideas within the feedback.