Ford introduces first F-150 Lightning as electric truck war goes into high gear

A rural Michigan man became the first person in the nation to get a Ford F-150 Lightning, to me Bloomberg. Nicholas Schmidt, chief technology officer of a network improvement startup, on Thursday received a silver electric truck at a Richardson Ford, a dealership in the small town of Standish, Michigan.

according to BloombergSchmidt owns a Tesla Model 3, places a deposit for one of the company’s Cybertrucks, and is considering buying a Rivian R1T truck as well. He said his wife was relieved when it was clear that the F-150 Lightning would be the first to arrive. (Schmidt has Since Twitter that his Cybertruck reservation is “no longer required.”)

Ford draws on decades of production and delivery experience as well as its extensive network of dealers as it strives to beat its rivals in the race to get electric trucks to most people. Trucks are among the best-selling cars in the country, and the F-150 has been the best-selling vehicle in the United States for the past 40 years.

While Rivian stands out Being the first to bring her electric truck In the markets, Ford’s electric F-Series is expected to attract more customers to consider switching to electric vehicles. And although it was introduced in 2019, the Tesla Cybertruck was so Repeatedly Now it is not expected to go into production until 2023 at the earliest.

The electric truck war will be fierce, but Ford may have bought itself some breathing room thanks to the speed with which it got the F-150 Lightning to market. General Motors started Premium Hummer EV Delivery To customers earlier this year, but at nearly three times the price of the F-150 Lightning, it really couldn’t be considered in the same class. car maker Chevrolet Silverado EV It will likely be more affordable but is not expected to start production until 2023. Meanwhile, Stellantis has not said when it will be electrified ram truck 1500 will debut.

But Ford will have some limitations of its own. The number of electric F-150s that Ford planned to make in the first few years of production was a somewhat shifting target. Initially, the company was targeting just 40,000 vehicles a year, and eventually told suppliers it expected that capacity to rise to 80,000 by early 2023. Now, that number has risen to 150,000 trucks by mid-2023 — although it’s unclear how many cars that will reach customers this year.

The company uses a “wave-by-wave reservation process” to let customers know when they can go online to select their Lightnings. Earlier this year, Ford Stop taking reservations Having collected 200,000 in $100 redeemable deposits for Lightning since its debut in May 2020. (Reservations remain closed as of this article’s publication.) Ford’s Rouge Electric Vehicle Center production target is 160,000 units per year.

Schmidt said Bloomberg He plans to use the F-150 Lightning to do things on the trucks, like lumber and traction. How many other truck customers will get with the F-150 Lightnings this year will be up to Ford.