The details appear in an “Order Bank Opening Playbook” Ford sent to dealerships this week. It appeared on the forum website LightningOwners.com. Reached for comment, a Ford spokesperson wouldn’t confirm the document’s authenticity. But they confirmed most of its contents, explaining that “due to the extraordinarily high demand, Ford is implementing a waved invitation approach to efficiently convert reservations to orders.”
Reservation First, Order Later
There are two steps to ordering an F-150 Lightning, and the window to complete the first of them has already closed.
Ford accepted more than 200,000 reservations for the truck before closing the reservation portal earlier this month. A reservation earned a buyer the right to order a truck, cost just $100, and was fully refundable. So it’s likely that not every reservation will turn into an order.
But it’s worth noting that Ford currently has the capacity to build 15,000 F-150 Lightning trucks in 2022, 55,000 in 2023, and 80,000 in 2024. If every reservation holder were to place an order, some might not get their truck until well into 2025. Ford could convert factories to build the trucks faster, but that is a time-consuming and expensive process.
A spokesperson told KBB, “We continue to work to break constraints and increase volumes quickly for future model years.”
A Wave of Orders Every 2 Weeks
Ford will contact reservation holders in waves, one roughly every two weeks, to give them the chance to place an order. Your place in line will depend on when you placed your reservation and the number of trucks Ford allocates to local dealerships.
“There is not a set number of waves,” Ford says.
Ford plans to build the Lightning in four trim levels, ranging from a basic work truck to a luxury truck with all the fixin’s. It will build a limited number of each. Orders for one configuration may fill before later reservation-holders have the chance to order it.
“The number of waves will be adjusted throughout the process,” Ford says, based on how many customers order each configuration and when the parts to build it are available.
According to the guide, customers who find that their preferred configuration isn’t available “can either elect to maintain their reservation for a subsequent model year, work with their dealer to modify their order,” or cancel it and accept a refund of their reservation fee.
Scarcity Could Drive High Prices for a While
The limited supply of F-150 Lightnings could lead to dealer markups. It could also drive high prices on used models if some who do receive a truck choose to sell it. Order books aren’t even open yet, and Jalopnik reports dealers asking for markups as high as $30,000.
There is some relief ahead for buyers, however. Scarcity drives high prices, but electric trucks won’t remain scarce forever. Illinois-based startup Rivian has already begun delivering electric trucks to customers.
Ford rival GM will reveal two new electric trucks soon – an electric Chevy Silverado set to appear next month and an electric GMC Sierra soon after. Ram plans to launch an electric version of its Ram 1500 by 2024 – when, if current plans hold, some Lighting reservation holders may still be a year from receiving their truck.
Keyword: Ford Will Start Taking Orders for F-150 Lightning Electric Truck in January