Ford has started series production of the F-150 Lightning. The battery-electric pickup truck is built at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn in the US state of Michigan. Bill Ford even speaks of the “Model T of the 21st century”.
Ford offer is offering the F-150 Lightning in two variants, one with a range of 230 miles (about 370 kilometres) and 318 kW drive power or with a range of 300 miles (about 480 kilometres) and 420 kW power. It is not clear yet which of the variants will be built first.
The production facilities should be well set by now: Ford had already started pre-series production in September 2021. This should allow production to be scaled up soon after the go-ahead for the production of customer vehicles – provided there are enough components available.
The demand for the large electric pickup is definitely there: according to Ford, around 200,000 reservations for the F-150 Lightning have been recorded so far. Since this figure is well above the company’s expectations, Ford has already announced that it will almost double production of the electric pickup to 150,000 units per year next year.
In addition, Ford states in its announcement of the start of production that it has been able to attract a particularly large number of new customers with the vehicle: three out of four reservation holders are new to Ford. This seems to indicate that it is not the customers of the combustion model who are switching to the electric vehicle version (at least not at the start of production), but new customers. It is not clear from the information whether these customers have previously driven (combustion) pickups from other brands or whether they are also new to the pickup segment.
Board Chairman Bill Ford highlighted the importance not only of the model but also of the Electric Vehicle Centre at Ford’s historic Rouge facility. “Today we celebrate the Model T moment for the 21st Century at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center, ” Ford said. “The Rouge is where Ford perfected the moving assembly line, making it a fitting backdrop as we make history again. The stunning anticipation for F-150 Lightning is a credit to the work of our Ford engineers and designers, and the UAW team members who are building these trucks with pride.”
Keyword: Ford completes the first serial electric F-150