According to the latest news, yesterday night, Ford Motor Co. unveiled the electric F-150 Lightning via a live streamed event from Ford World Headquarters. It is not only a milestone for the Blue Oval’s push toward electrification but also for America’s auto industry as a whole as a whole.
Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford, United Auto Workers Vice President Gerald Kariem, F-150 Lightning Chief Engineer Linda Zhang, and Ford CEO Jim Farley together introduced the truck.
Bill Ford said, “There’s no doubt that this truck is powerful, but it’s also a showcase of what’s to come from Ford. As America’s favorite vehicle is now electrified, this is a defining moment for our country, a watershed moment for our industry, and on a personal note, it’s really gratifying for me.”
As of now, electric vehicles make less than 2% of the automobile market in the US but this electric F-150 could be the beginning of a new story. Back in 2020, Ford sold some 800,000 F-Series trucks out of which it is estimated that at least 556,000 are F-150s. According to Ford, this truck lineup itself generates an annual revenue worth more than $42 billion.
The entry level F-150 Lightning will come with a price tag of $39,974 and the highest end will come with a price tag of $90,000. Note that the entry level gasoline powered 2021 F-150 has a price tag of $28,940.
Farley said “A lot of people would think with all of that, all of the features, all that capability, all that technology, that this would be a six-figure trophy truck.” US President Joe Bidden visited the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center this week where the truck will be built by UAW members.
By considering F-150 Lightning as a model for electrification, Bidden said, “Everything that these workers, this historic complex and this state represent, is something that I hope gets modeled around the country.”
Ford will start production from the next spring so it can be said that trucks will go on sale sometime in 2022. Kariem said, “Our members are so proud to be the workers whose hard work and dedication will build this vehicle of the future. Today’s investment is not just an investment of technology and money. It is far more than that. It is an investment in the future of UAW Ford workers and their families.”
Kumar Galhotra, Ford’s president of Americas and International Markets Group said, “The F-150 Lightning is a great example of how we’re doing business at Ford today, using electrification to make our vehicles even better.”
In terms of specification, the car 400 pounds of payload capability, a 400 liter volume, power of 2.4 kilowatts, four electrical outlets, and two USB chargers. The vehicle can go zero to 60 mph within just four seconds. The vehicle has around 775 pound feet of nearly instantaneous torque. Morover, when it is equipped with the extended range battery, it has 563 horsepower.
The truck has a large lithium ion battery pack featuring a liquid cooling system. Customers will have two battery pack options. One of the battery options is the standard package with an estimated EPA range of about 230 miles while the other battery option is an extended range package targeting 300 miles.
The car has an option for 9.6 kilowatts of “intelligent backup power”. This means this power is stored as a backup. Interestingly, if the truck is plugged in when an outage occurs, the backup power would automatically turn on. The company claims the truck can provide full home power for up to three days if it is fully charged.
F-150 Lightning drivers will have access to a network of more than 63,000 charging plugs across the U.S. As per the company, on a 150 kilowatt DC fast charger, the extended-range version of the truck can offer a range up to 54 miles in 10 minutes. F-150 Lightning will be available in four series and will be sold at more than 2,300 EV-certified Ford dealers across the US.
Jessica Caldwell, executive director of insights for Edmunds said, “The F-150 Lightning probably won’t make up a big piece of F-Series sales at first, but the vehicle is an important step for Ford. This is a strategic long-term move that will help Ford maintain its sales dominance in the truck space, which has evolved rapidly in a short period of time.”
