As one of the first EV pickups to market, as well as one based on America’s best-selling vehicle for decades at this point, the Ford F-150 Lightning immediately became a smash hit in the marketplace, racking up more orders than FoMoCo could possibly fill in a year or possibly even longer. The vast majority of F-150 Lightning owners thus far are new to not only all-electric vehicles, but also Ford as a brand, making it an even more important product for the automaker itself. However, it also appears that many Ford F-150 Lightning owners are using their trucks in different ways than traditional pickup owners as well, according to the Detroit Free Press.
The Blue Oval recently conducted a customer survey with 3,500 buyers between September 2021 and October 2022 and found some surprising discoveries as a result, many of which show that Ford F-150 Lightning owners differ in many ways from traditional pickup buyers. Perhaps the most surprising of all of these discoveries is that Lightning owners actually use the beds of their pickups more than ICE buyers, whether that be for hauling, camping, or performing home improvement projects.
While just 51 percent of ICE truck owners that participated in the survey say that they use the bed in those vehicles to complete home projects at least once a month, 74 percent of Ford F-150 Lightning customers use their vehicles to haul anything from mulch to drywall. They also use their trucks more for camping purposes on a monthly basis – 48 percent versus 40 percent – while more than half have migrated to the EV from a non-pickup, versus 33 percent for the ICE F-150.
“These people finally get their first pickup and they’re excited. They use it like crazy,” said Ford marketing general manager for electrified trucks, Jason Mase. “They have the freedom to have wet and dirty storage in the bed and use dry storage up front (in the front trunk) which is massive. I coach baseball and throw dirty gear in the box and groceries and nice things in the frunk.”
We’ll have more on the 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 non-stop Ford news coverage.
Comments
I wonder if the camping is really out in the deep woods camping, or more glamping. I can see the advantages of the battery to power all the gear and gadgets that people like to bring nowadays. This would be quiet compared to a generator. I assume they aren’t too far off the beaten path should they forget to monitor the battery life and drain it too much to get home. I know it wouldn’t get me to the places our scouts would camp and back on a charge while towing a troop trailer. But there is a niche for everyone.
The rest kinda shows that the truck is being used as an everyday local hardware, grocery hauler not venturing too far afield. It’s getting used like a modern minivan… Just a bigger more expensive one with a cool frunk for the clean stuff. I can see a soccer or hockey parent loving it. Clean up front, stink in the back, kinda like an automotive mullet. 🙂
Never seen a charger set up to allow you to keep your trailer attached while charging.