Ford F-150 Lightning Manufacturing Hits A Pace Bump

The Ford F-150 Lightning was alleged to be the Blue Oval’s large EV win. I imply, you are taking the best-selling car within the U.S., convert it to electrical, and unleash it on the lots. Certainly that is a recipe for fulfillment, 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 tip of the yr to “modify 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 heaps earlier than it cranks out extra. 

Welcome again to Important Supplies, your each day roundup for all issues EV and automotive tech. Right now, we’re chatting about Ford plans to idle F-150 Lightning manufacturing all through the tip 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 Yr

Ford is hitting the brakes—figuratively and actually—on manufacturing of the Ford F-150 Lightning all through the tip of the yr. The transfer alerts one other surprising 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 practice has formally left the station. In an announcement to Automotive Information, Ford confirmed that the manufacturing pause will begin in mid-November and is deliberate to final seven weeks (inclusive of a regular 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. In truth, 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 Heart the place the Lightning is assembled.

One other slap within the face has come straight 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 a complete is liable to shedding its 42-year crown as best-selling car 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 line with information 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 heaps for 30-60 days at most. The agency did not specify a selected 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 an incredible quarter for automakers, so Ford doubtless 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 an incredible search for Ford’s EV program.

The automaker can also be going through some moderately massive 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. Through the firm’s third-quarter earnings name, Farley mentioned that he “wouldn’t commerce” the model’s EV technique for any of the Blue Oval’s opponents. And, regardless of the “sluggish uptake of EVs,” Ford believes that their strikes will assist to create a stable 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 drag off one of many greatest wins for VW’s U.S. operations in a very very long time. Its secret? Effectively, other than re-using a basic American nameplate with some very customer-focused automobiles, is a brand new high-tech partnership that it is borrowing from its mother or father firm.

We’re speaking about that fancy-pants new “zonal structure” method that is all the craze 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 automobiles are doubtless 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, in reality, make the most of this tech sharing throughout a dialogue at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024:

The working system will likely 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 must you care? It is the following large factor within the automotive world—altering the essential manner {that a} automobile thinks and talks to elements.

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

Rivian Zonal Structure

A car with a zonal structure community as an alternative 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 drastically reduces {the electrical} complexity in trade for extra software program—however, hey, Software program Outlined Autos are the longer term, 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 equipped by the Germans and a pledge for one more $4 billion in a while. Collectively, the three way partnership will assist Volkswagen do one thing that it hasn’t been in a position to 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 crew, 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 concept of Scout (and the doubtless profitable income the three way partnership will get from the licensing deal.) The partnership won’t finish with Volkswagen, as Bensaid hinted that Rivian might 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 strain 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 truly much less than analysts anticipated, but it surely nonetheless managed to beat out Tesla’s nonetheless spectacular $25.2 billion in world 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 automobiles total. Tesla’s market cap is 698% increased than BYD’s, bolstered primarily by its guarantees of AI and full self-driving. That being mentioned, regardless of BYD’s income being increased than Tesla’s, the Chinese language automaker’s internet revenue truly fell quick. 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 executed but. In truth, its finest quarter of the yr might be underway proper now. Bloomberg has the news:

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 automobile market. The final three months of any yr are often the peak buying season, and on prime of subsidies, central authorities companies have been ordered to spice up EV purchases.

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

One factor that would throw a wrench BYD’s plans for EV domination are the worldwide tariffs being enacted to cease its growth of automobiles funded by means of “unfair subsidization.” The U.S. and Canada have each enacted 100% responsibility charges on Chinese language EVs (BYD would 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 broaden its market share in Mexico into 2025 with a projected output of 100,000 automobiles.

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

Picture by: Volkswagen

I’ve mentioned it earlier than: I am a giant fan of what Scout is doing. The VW spin-off is constructing a truck catered to its splendid viewers, and all indicators are pointing to the model actually realizing its prospects. However its mother or father firm? Perhaps 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 downside: shoppers aren’t biting.

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