Ford CEO predicts US EV adoption won’t rise above 5% as F-150 Lightning production faces a hiccup
Published on Oct 30, 2025 at 7:02 AM (UTC+4)
by Jason Fan
Last updated on Oct 30, 2025 at 10:04 AM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
Ford CEO Jim Farley has a sobering take on the state of EV adoption in America, just as the Ford F-150 Lightning faces another production hiccup.
During Ford’s third-quarter earnings call, Farley warned that US electric vehicle demand was softening faster than expected.
He now expected EV adoption to hover around five percent of the total market in the near term, which is a far cry from the double-digit growth automakers were betting on just a year ago.
Still, Farley said that he wasn’t giving up on EVs altogether, he was simply taking a more realistic view of where the market is headed next.
SBX CARS – View live supercar auctions powered by Supercar Blondie
There was major hype for the F-150 Lightning
Ford’s biggest EV gamble so far, the F-150 Lightning, has been a roller coaster of triumphs and turbulence.
When it launched in 2022, it was hailed as a game-changer.
As an all-electric version of America’s best-selling vehicle (at least, up until early 2025), it was capable of powering your home, hauling heavy loads, and rocketing from 0 to 60 mph in under five seconds.
The hype was real, with reservation lists stretching into the hundreds of thousands.
But production delays, supplier hiccups, and price adjustments soon followed, as Ford scrambled to scale up manufacturing.
Now, that production line is going quiet again, at least for the time being.
Ford announced it’s pausing F-150 Lightning production due to aluminum shortages caused by a fire at Novelis’ Oswego, New York plant.
The pause also coincides with a broader strategic shift at Ford, as the automaker leans back toward hybrids and gasoline models, which Farley admitted are ‘more profitable’ in today’s cautious EV market.
Ford is not alone in slowing down EV production
That doesn’t mean Ford is retreating from electrification altogether.
Ford CEO Jim Farley touted the company’s upcoming Universal EV platform, which will underpin a new family of sub-$30,000 EVs.
He also pointed to Ford’s hefty $5 billion investment in BlueOval Battery Park in Marshall, Michigan, where production of LFP battery cells will soon begin.
In any case, Ford is not alone in hitting the brakes.
Rival General Motors recently pressed pause on two of its biggest electric SUVs, the Hummer EV and Escalade IQ, amid the lower-than-expected EV demand.
DISCOVER SBX CARS: The global premium car auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie
Jason Fan is an experienced content creator who graduated from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore with a degree in communications. He then relocated to Australia during a millennial mid-life crisis. A fan of luxury travel and high-performance machines, he politely thanks chatbots just in case the AI apocalypse ever arrives. Jason covers a wide variety of topics, with a special focus on technology, planes and luxury.
