For Electric Vehicles to Succeed, Trucks like the Ford F-150 Lightning Need to Sell

We’re not really truck people. Indeed, we have some strong opinions on big, dirty, diesel trucks, that “macho” people drive.

However, the reality is that trucks make up a huge portion of the automotive fleet, and if we want a cleaner, electric future, trucks need to be a big part of that.

So when companies like Ford release their all-electric version of their best selling pickup, it’s actually a really big deal.  The 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning is the Blue Oval’s first all-electric truck, and they’re betting big that they can convince a lot of their buyers that the truck is up to the job.

With a 300-mile range, and the ability to tow up to 10,000 pounds, the truck seems more than capable for most people. And surprisingly, the Lightning starts at just under $40,000, before EV incentives.  That’s a price that people routinely spend on truck purchases, and we envision electric incentives only growing in the near-term. Those could make the price of the EV F-150 very competitive, considering that electric cars need much less maintenance than gas ones.

The Verge spoke to an automotive analyst to see if they think the electric truck will find the right buyers:

“Is there a market? We think there is, as when we survey people, there is some interest. But how many of those people are there? Are these traditional truck buyers who are willing to go electric, or are these people who maybe haven’t purchased a truck before but are interested in a truck now that electric is an option? Who are the buyers? We know that EV buyers, generally, are younger than the general car-buying public and far more affluent – among the most affluent of car buyers. Who will these EV truck buyers purchase from – a traditional truck maker, like Ford, with decades of expertise in truck making, or an upstart like Tesla, Rivian, etc.? What will they use their EV trucks for? Our studies show full-size truck buyers tend to use their trucks for work; buyers of smaller trucks use them more for leisure and recreation.”
  – Cox Automotive executive analyst Michelle Krebs

 

With features like a “Mega Power Frunk”, 15-inch touchscreen, and the ability to power a job-site or even an entire home, the Ford F-150 Lightning should chart a course for the future for American automakers, especially in the truck space.

Let’s just hope people buy them!