DETROIT — Ford Motor plans to halt manufacturing of its all-electric F-150 Lightning from mid-November till early subsequent 12 months to handle bloated inventories and slender losses on the pickup vans.

The automaker on Thursday confirmed the seven-week shutdown would happen at its Rouge Electrical Automobile Heart in suburban Detroit from Nov. 18 till Jan. 6, together with beforehand deliberate vacation downtime on the finish of the 12 months.

“We proceed to regulate manufacturing for an optimum mixture of gross sales progress and profitability,” Ford stated in an emailed assertion.

The canceled manufacturing, which was first reported by Automotive News, comes as gross sales of all-electric vehicles haven’t grown as shortly as many had anticipated amid larger prices and reluctant shopper adoption.

Gross sales of the F-150 Lightning are up 86% this 12 months, however the firm loses cash on the automobile and has been subsidizing gross sales. That features a reported program providing sellers as much as $1,500 for every 2024 F-150 Lightning they order from one of many automaker’s new regional electrical automobile distribution facilities.

Ford on Monday stated its Mannequin e EV operations are anticipated to lose about $5 billion this 12 months.

Ford executives have stated the automaker’s next-generation of EVs can be less expensive than its present technology, and that it will not launch a product until it may be worthwhile inside a 12 months.

The manufacturing slowdown represents a fall from grace for the F-150 Lightning. Ford executives corresponding to CEO Jim Farley as soon as touted the automobile as having the identical significance because the Mannequin T, however the firm has moved to slashing planned output of the pickup in half to start this 12 months.

Ford’s total days’ provide of recent autos was 112 days as of the top of September, based on Cox Automotive. The F-150, together with electrical and conventional fashions, was at 100 days. Ford’s different EV fashions — Mustang Mach-E crossover and E-Transit van — had been even larger at 128 days and 112 days, respectively, Cox stories.

Ford has a goal vary of fifty days to 60 days of provide.