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The electrically powered Ford F-150 Lightning is characterized by an LED light strip across the entire width of the front section.
The pick-up with two electric machines is set to stir up the US electric car market from spring 2022.
Photo: Ford
Can you love a car? A year ago, Ford asked owners of the F-150 pick-up model whether they would rather give up their car, streaming service or alcohol. Okay, that has nothing to do with love, but the answers at least indicate a deep affection: 82 percent said they would rather cancel the streaming service and 79 percent said they would rather be abstinent from now on than without a flatbed truck. One does not interpret too much in this survey when one concludes that for many Americans the F-150 is much more than just a car.
The series has been in production since 1948, currently in the 14th generation. The pick-up has been the best-selling vehicle in the United States without interruption since 1977. Last year, despite Corona restrictions, Ford sold a total of 787,372 F-series models in the United States alone. Makes 2157 copies per day. With this number at the latest, one understands the importance of this model for the manufacturer, for the customers, actually for the whole country.
And now this: next spring, the F-150 will be launched as an electric car for the first time.
With two electric motors and all-wheel drive, with an extremely strong torque of 1050 Nm and with different sized batteries for a range of up to 480 kilometers.
"We didn't develop the F-150 Lightning as an electric truck for a minority - this car solves the real problems of all normal people," says Kumar Galhotra, who is responsible for the Ford business in America.
Late but cheap
Ford is coming quite late with the F-150 Lightning. Sales of the Rivian R1T should start in just a few weeks. The Cybertruck from Tesla and the GMC E-Hummer from General Motors, both of which are due to hit the market towards the end of this year, have also long been presented. At first glance, the Ford F-150 Lightning looks like a straggler. In fact, however, it stands out from the competition in one essential detail: the price. Ford will offer the basic version "Commercial" of the new e-pick-up from 39,974 dollars, the equivalent of around 32,600 euros. The Rivian R1T, on the other hand, will cost $ 75,000 (later there will be a variant for $ 67,500), the GMC E-Hummer even more than $ 100,000.
Only the Tesla Cybertruck, which is similar in size but visually completely different from the Ford F-150 Lightning, is said to be comparably expensive in the entry-level version, namely 39,900 dollars.
However, Tesla does not yet have all-wheel drive for this, but is only offered in the version for $ 49,900.
The car can also be used as an emergency generator
Ford also emphasizes other unique selling points of the new electric pick-up. For example, the vehicle's batteries could supply a household with electricity for three days if it had been cut off from the power supply as a result of a storm or a heat wave. There are various sockets on the vehicle, there are four under the front hood alone. Because the electric drive takes up much less space than a classic six- or eight-cylinder combustion engine, a 400-liter trunk was also accommodated there. And there are special sensors that act as onboard scales and record the weight of the payload in order to include it in the calculation of the range.
However, it will hardly be such gimmicks that are likely to turn convinced pick-up customers into electric converts.
The price is more likely.
Especially since there is currently a tax credit of $ 7,500 in the US on the purchase of an electric vehicle.
Including this, a Ford F-150 Lightning costs $ 32,500.
Coupled with the nimbus as an uncomplicated and reliable all-purpose car, this could actually move potential customers to join the e-community.
Especially since the electric version is cheaper than the combustion model, and even cheaper than well-equipped, used F-150 types.
Do pick-ups undo the electrical knot?
Pick-ups, and above all the long-term bestseller F-150, are considered to be the key to nationwide electrification of the US car market. This is made clear by looking at two statistics. The first: The three best-selling vehicles in the US last year were pick-ups; in first place the Ford F-150, followed by the Chevrolet Silverado and the Ram 1500. Only in fourth place does the Toyota RAV4 become the first non-pick-up. The second statistic: Last year, only around 328,000 vehicles with electric or plug-in hybrid drives were sold in the USA (places one to three went to the Tesla models Model 3, Model Y and Model X). So there is still considerable potential for electric car providers.
Market observers expect e-car sales in the USA to exceed one million by 2025. And quite a few of these future electric vehicles will possibly be pick-ups. Ford boss Jim Farley announced the day after the unveiling of the F-150 Lightning that within twelve hours, 20,000 reservations with a deposit of 100 dollars each had been received for the car. It could be that a calculation will work out.
