Ford Lets Lightning Out of the Bottle
The all electric pick-up “hauls ass and tows like a beast” according to Ford CEO and President Jim Farley.
MAY 19, 2021
Ford is proud to announce that the truck of the future is here.
Known as the F150 Lightning, the all electric pickup truck was unveiled during a live Wednesday night event in Dearborn, Michigan. The announcement clearly delivered on promises the automaker made during a press conference in September 2020.
“The F150 is the world’s most popular and trusted truck. And, the F 150 Lightning will be the smartest, cleanest f150 ever,” said Ford Motor Co. Executive Chairman Bill Ford, during the live unveiling. “This is a defining moment for our company, a watershed moment for our industry. And on a personal level. It’s really gratifying for me. It’s a truck that will usher in a cleaner future for our country. And it will fulfill our promise to our children and our grandchildren, that our generation is committed to leaving them a cleaner planet.”
“F150 lightning is like no other truck,” said Chief Engineer Linda Zhang. “Building on over a century of truck know how, we unlocked the full potential of EV technology. And wherever we saw the opportunity to improve, we took it.” According to Zhang, the new 4×4 offering is also the best handling F150 ever with the fastest acceleration of any F150 with four selectable driving modes: normal, sports, off-road and tow/haul.
With noticeable excitement, Ford CEO and President Jim Farley said, “Metaphorically it might as well have a Superman cape and a Captain America shield.” According to Farley, the F150 Lightning will also have regular over the air updates called Ford Power-Up to “continually improve the user experience and ad completely new features and technologies” without requiring trips to the dealership.
According to the official statement, the F-150 Lightning is a pillar of the company’s more than $22 billion global electric vehicle plan to lead electrification in areas of strength. Ford is starting with zero-emissions versions of its most popular and best-loved franchises – Mustang, Transit and F-150 – with much more to come in the years ahead.
Wickedly quick off the mark, quiet and smooth, F-150 Lightning delivers a new experience for truck owners at a starting price on par with today’s similarly configured F-150 trucks. The electric platform unlocks new capabilities as well – such as enough energy to power an entire home and a massive lockable front trunk with power and charging capabilities to spare including 11 outlets.
F-150 Lightning targets 563 horsepower, 775 lb.-ft. of torque – more than any F-150 ever – and a 0-60 mph time in the mid-4-second range when equipped with an extended-range battery, based on typical industry methodology. F-150 Lightning targets a maximum 2,000 pounds of payload in the standard-range model with 18-inch wheels, and a maximum 10,000 pounds of available towing capacity on XLT and Lariat trucks with the extended-range battery and Max Trailer Tow Package. The low center of gravity brings even more confident handling whether traveling along rain-slicked roads or through sand.
Assembled in America, F-150 Lightning will make use of the new, state-of-the-art Rouge Electric Vehicle Center – which will also be a zero-waste-to-landfill site. Ford is investing $700 million into the historic Rouge Complex, adding 500 new jobs and employing advanced sustainable manufacturing technology to build the truck as part of its commitment to becoming carbon neutral by 2050. The new truck is slotted for arrival in spring 2022, in four series and two battery options at more than 2,300 EV-certified Ford dealers across the country, with the option for fleet customers to access Ford’s complete ecosystem of connected data and telematics services via Ford Commercial Solutions.
What does it cost? The commercial-oriented entry model starts at $39,974 MSRP before any federal or state tax credits, while the mid-series XLT model starts at $52,974 MSRP, offering additional comfort and technology.