UPDATE 1-Ford to supply over 1,000 Lightning, Mustang Mach-E EVs to Ecolab
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Jan 30 (Reuters) - Ford Motor said on Tuesday it would supply more than 1,000 F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E electric vehicles (EVs) to Ecolab to replace the water treatment firm's gas-powered vehicles in California.
Ecolab said it was planning to replace all 11,000 vehicles in its North American fleet with EVs by 2030.
The company which expects to lower its overall costs from the shift to EVs, said that it could potentially save about 50% in annual fuel costs per 2023 F-150 Lightning Pro truck.
The move comes as major carmakers shy away from their EV push over signs of cooling demand from buyers for those models.
Ford Pro chief Ted Cannis said the agreement with Ecolab, which is already a Ford commercial vehicle customer, will help the automaker "figure out what's the slope of the line for electrification."
Ford earlier this month said it was cutting production of the F-150 Lightning to one shift because of slower-than-expected demand.
The automaker had accelerated Lightning production to three shifts a day last year, before scaling back to two shifts. (Reporting by Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru and Joe White; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Shailesh Kuber)
