As Ford’s marquee EV pickup trickles out to dealers, it’s ready to zoom past its plug-in competitors.
The Lightning is being heralded as a potential game-changer for electric vehicles, incorporating nascent technology into a utilitarian truck that can haul cargo and rival the speed of a Porsche.The most popular vehicle in the U.S. is going electric, and it’s coming to dealers across the country.
The Lightning launched production in April at the Rouge EV center in Dearborn, Michigan, and job one for Ford is fulfilling preorders for the truck. Ford cut off online reservations in December after receiving nearly 200,000 preorders. The automaker plans to increase annual production to 150,000 vehicles by next year.
Caldwell said supply chain issues, including the global semiconductor shortage, may continue to roil auto production into next year. But as automakers prioritize the transition to electric vehicles, production may accelerate at EV plants, she said. While Rivian has a head start on EV truck competitors, its first mover advantage may be evaporating as both Ford and General Motors accelerate production of rival pickups, Caldwell said.
Those potential customers can, however, get behind the wheel of a Lightning this summer at many Ford dealers. Ford is delivering 2,400 demo versions of the EV truck to dealers across the U.S. by July, Turnbull said. The demo vehicles will be on the lot for six months before the dealers can sell them, giving Ford time to ramp up production.
The cabin likewise feels familiar, but a large touch screen in the middle of the dash includes features such as propulsion sound, which replicates engine noise for those unaccustomed to the quiet power of an EV, and 1-pedal drive, which makes the brake pedal a seldom-used appendage — depressing and releasing the accelerator is enough to handle most stop-and-go city driving.
After an hour on the road, we returned the Lightning to the Fox Ford dealership in the Bucktown neighborhood, with nearly 300 miles of range left and nary a scratch on its Atlas Blue finish. Stepps said he kept his place at the front of the line by watching the production process “like a hawk.” As soon as he received an email from Ford inviting him to customize and place the order, he did. Stepps then reached out to the dealer to make sure the order was processed promptly.
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