In recent months, Ford has made a big commitment to investing in EVs, as well as bringing battery production in-house. In addition to the Ford Mustang Mach-E, E-Transit, two future European models based on VW’s MEB platform, and a Ford and Lincoln-branded crossover for North America, the automaker is also set to reveal the 2023 F-150 Lightning next week. But one big question looms over the first-ever all-electric Ford F-150 – will people line up to buy one? At least for Ford CEO Jim Farley, the answer to that question is yes.
“The revenue pool is enormous,” Farley told MotorTrend in a recent interview. “Within that are customers with a duty cycle perfect for electrification. There are two extremes. [The first is] commercial customers with regular fixed routes, happy with depot charging, who need a vehicle with low cost of ownership and 100 percent uptime, as well as features.”
“The second is retail customers with plenty of vehicles for long trips, and they want to drive a pickup that’s electrified with software functionality you can’t get in a non-electrified vehicle. It is a fully digital vehicle, built Ford tough. We’ve seen strange designs of fully electric pickup trucks. Soon as they get dirt in them, it’s not going to be good.”
That last tidbit is notable because Farley is seemingly throwing a bit of shade at the Tesla Cybertruck, which does have a bit of an unconventional design. Though Tesla has taken hundreds of thousands of reservations for its EV pickup, at least one recent study shows that more customers find the 2023 F-150 Lightning appealing, so it’ll be interesting to see how things pan out in the coming year or so.
In the meantime, we’ll get an early gauge of what consumers think of the 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning next Wednesday during its reveal, as reservations for the pickup will go live at that time – just like the 2021 Ford Bronco, Ford Bronco Sport, and Mach-E. We’ll also learn how much the F-150 Lightning will cost, as well as what sort of range it’ll offer – both key factors that will play a huge role in its success.
We’ll have much more on the 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for the latest Ford F-Series news, Ford F-150 news, F-150 Lightning news, and continuous Ford news coverage.
Comments
WHEN is Jim Farley going to communicate to buyers that purchased F150’s months ago (5 months for me) when the vehicles are going to be delivered? Is Jim Farley going to offer us anything for having to wait so long after promised delivery date?
I get what you are saying, but there is a shortage across the industry. Unfortunately there isn’t anything anyone can do other than wait for the supply chain to catch up. That or sell people a truck that isn’t functional
SOMEONE in the Ford organization has a great idea when these chips are going to arrive as well as the team scheduled to install. Just communicate that to us. If it is 2 weeks, 2 months etc. communicate that. Waiting week after week with no forecast whatsoever is horrible customer service. You can’t tell me Jim Farley is sitting back with no idea when they are going to arrive.
Jim Farley says he is is going to have a F150 EV on the lots in 2023 ?
News flash, people have been waiting for their 2021 Broncos and gas powered F150s.
Jim needs to get into politics. He’d fit in well.
If you are talking to me you are an idiot. I own multiple businesses that produce millions of dollars each year. I would not want that CEO job. Unions suck. Farley needs to stay off social media and start communicating with dedicated customers. There is absolutely no reason that a reasonable timeframe has not been set for these chips to arrive, be installed and vehicles shipped to dealers. NO INFORMATION at all is bad business. Is it days, weeks, months?
I agree ! As adults we have lives to run and we make the best decisions we can make for our future. All I’m asking for is a honest time frame so I can make those decisions. I feel like I’m being toyed with for no other reason other than Jim looking after Fords bottom line. That’s not putting the customer first, that’s treating people like they are stupid.
Ford is missing the mark with EV,s with regards to the F150. Towing and range anxiety are the biggest problems to overcome. Fast charging facilities are non existent and are a drain on existing peak demands within our daytime electrical availability. Our existing electrical grid cannot support this extra demand created by EV charging during peak demands. What Ford should do is slightly increase the electric only capabilities of the hybrid F150, that allows and electric only capacity of say 80 to 100 miles. This is the range that most daily owners put on daily. Once they arrive at home they can be plugged back in and charged at night when electrical demand is low and less costly. The ICE eliminates towing and range anxiety. Lastly , the hybrid should have automatic regenerating battery charge for those millions who tow 4 wheels down behind their RV. This would eliminate complex and expensive supplemental braking sytem for those who do tow and make ford more sought after instead of the. Crazy jeep wranglers.