The vehicle industry is up in flames right now, with supply-chain issues raising costs and causing shortages nationwide. Though this has been an issue for coming up on a year now, companies like Ford are still steadily hiking prices for even their cheapest models. Ford has raised its prices on the F-150 Lightning Electric truck twice in the last three months and it now stands at $55,974, which is up by 9%. It’s understandable that supply and chain hardships are putting manufacturers in a bad place right now, but that much money for the cheapest truck made by one of the worst-ranked domestic vehicle companies at the moment is a huge ouch.
Right now, automakers are also really struggling to keep up with the prices of raw materials and lithium, and warnings of the high coats being here to stay are sounding alarms.
With inflation taking a huge bite out of the global economy, almost everyone is suffering, and the auto industry is no different. Companies are finding vehicle shipments are more sparse and less reliable, while potential buyers are being left on hold as they wait for cars and trucks to come in.
Companies like Ford and Dodge are having a hard time keeping inventory flowing, and individual sales offices are having to turn away potential customers or keep them waiting, which is obviously the last thing they want to do. It’s typical right now for a car salesperson to create a list of potential buyers along with their vehicle preferences so that when a shipment comes in, they have leads to jump on immediately. If one person isn’t on board with the vehicle, they quickly go down the list. Though, a lot of buyers aren’t being picky right now.
Even old and used vehicles are seeing a hike, making it much harder for people on tight budgets to acquire a new car at an affordable price. Three years ago, a truck nearing $60,000 was considered on the high-end side and it’s insane to see prices increase so dramatically in real time.
Whether prices will go back down enough to make vehicles affordable again is up for discussion, though, which begins to paint a grim picture for the future of the auto industry.
