Back in July 2022, Ford Authority reported that the Ford F-150 Lightning was set to receive a new lithium iron-phosphate (LFP) battery, which does’t use nickel or cobalt in its construction and is generally cheaper, safer, and can be charged to 100 percent without worrying about speeding up battery degradation, though these units are also not as energy dense as lithium-ion batteries. Back in February, we learned that the EV pickup would gain this feature at some point in 2024, and now, sources familiar with the matter have confirmed to Ford Authority that the 2024 Ford F-150 Lightning will indeed still be adding the LFP battery at some point in the new model year.
The 2024 Ford F-150 Lightning will receive a new LFP battery pack at some point during its production run, which is expected to be optional on the Pro and XLT trims, with the current NICM unit standard range battery serving as the standard option. When that happens, the F-150 Lightning will join the Ford Mustang Mach-E as the second Blue Oval model to be available with an LFP battery pack, as the EV crossover gained that option for standard range models earlier this year.
Ford previously said that LFP battery packs would serve as replacements for its existing standard range batteries moving forward, which makes sense given the fact that traditionally, those packs offer less range than comparable lithium-ion batteries. That means for now, at least, it’s likely that the existing non-LFP battery packs in extended range models will remain the same.
Regardless, Ford plans on utilizing LFP packs in its EVs into the next decade, which is precisely why it’s investing in the future BlueOval Battery Park Michigan site, which will build those types of battery packs exclusively. For now, at least, that change figures to save the automaker and customers money, as LFP packs are reportedly around 10 percent cheaper to produce than a lithium-ion unit.
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Comments
Ah yes, lower energy density is clearly the solution to a vehicle that doesn’t sell because of its poor range when working.
I think cost is a bigger hurdle, so lower cost and less weight is a smart move. It’s still a very niche EV market.
They’re basically throwing money at people to take them. You can walk in to a dealer and get like 10k off up front, before the EV tax credit. I don’t think price is the issue any more than it is on any other new vehicle.
I think the issue is “too much, for too little”. The battery isn’t large enough to be useful for towing things, which relegates it to just home Depot trips and ego boosts. But the issue is that there aren’t truck guys that are also EV guys. There are EV guys who will pretend.to be truck guys, but they want the cyber truck because it’s a Tesla and it isn’t available yet so nobody knows it’s flaws.
They need to alter the design to be more aero and lighten the panels to reduce the weight and after watching Sandy Munro they need to work on the motors as well as cooling system.
They just need to make the lightning a powertrain option in the f150 lineup. Do what they can with the existing space, maybe slap the battery under the bad and make the bed 6″ shorter or something. The real issue with lightning is it hasn’t been updated to get the new f150 features. It has a god awful vertical screen, the interior isn’t as nice because they used eco friendly trim instead of normal luxury truck stuff, and it’s price wise the same as the expensive ICE trucks.
It shouldnt lose any range on the SR. The Mache E actually gained a few miles range. There should be more space in the battery cavity for the ER that the normal SR doesn’t use.
The real question is whether the likely Chinese LFP will lose rebates. Ford is short on answers.
The other Huge difference is that you can use your advertised range on a regular basis and not limit charge to 80% out of fear of killing your battery. In that regard it’s actually a logical range increase.
The real question is whether the likely Chinese LFP will lose rebates.
Well if they let them build a plant here and they get the materials from the US then they can still get the rebate. Problem is the government threw a fit when they wanted to build a plant here. Still not sure what that was about.
Ford will probably do that, but it takes Ford minimum 2 years to spin up any kind of plant. For this year it’s probably got to be Chinese unless one of the Korean companies has a LFP plant coming online
the industry average is 30-36 months from signing a contract to a production line, though I’ve heard much worse before — eg, LG’s 70/115 GWh (active/planned) plant in Poland took over additional 4 years just to bring up the yield rate.
That being said, Ford would probably never be able to manufacturer LFP cost-effectively in the US. LFP isn’t that much cheaper than high-energy NCM8/9 in raw material cost per Wh/kg. It’s just that CATL’s LFP is dirt cheap because they own their raw material supply-chain, ie, mining and refineries. Ford has no such raw material supply-chain of their own.
You mean it’s cheap because CATL uses slaves. Let’s be honest. The cost savings isn’t owning the supply chain companies, it’s that they own the supply chain workers.
All lithium ion batteries, including LFP, degrade faster when charged to 100% SOC. Tesla M3 LFP RW loses 10% range twice as fast non-LFP under Tesla’s weekly 100% charging recommendation (see CleanerWatt’s report on Oct 28, 2022). In other word, your LFP EV would lose 10% range/battery health just 50K, instead of 100K.
Currently the GM Silverado, in very very small supply, has a 200KWh pack and it does what I think every truck person hoped for. It goes 400 miles empty, charges fast at high speed chargers and can tow 10K for 200ish miles. Its not perfect, as in its not a long range truck
but its a lot more useful than the F150 that costs a lot more. If Ford can up their design maybe it can eek out more range but just like regular trucks drink more gas, it takes more battery power to be a work truck.
The Silverado isnt cheaper if it isn’t available. I would wait to see if it really goes on sale with a Price/Range combo you are talking about.
BEV trucks just don’t work as.trucks. the reality is, trucks make great PHEVs, and Terrible BEVs.
There are several recent articles about EVs becoming “uninsurable” due to the high cost of battery replacements, and because it is too difficult to determine if they have become damaged (and therefore a fire risk) in otherwise minor accidents. Whatever direction Ford goes with batteries, it looks like they need to armor-plate them.
we dont want over priced ,under performing EV !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Last I heard, the Lightning was heading back to Quality Control. Good luck towing with this because it eats right through the battery when even towing an empty alumimum car hauler trailer per an automotive review on YouTube that went viral. It has also been reported online that the battery has been overheating too, which presents the potential for a fire hazard. I think I’ll pass on this truck.