If you’re toying with the thought of ordering a 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickup, we have some bad news for you. The wait will be long. Very long. As in, you might get it in 2025 long.
Ford has temporarily closed reservations for Lightning because it currently has enough to fill three years’ worth of production.
A reservation and an order are two different things. Reservations are not binding. To reserve a Lightning, customers need only put down a refundable $100 fee. A reservation reserves you the right to place an order.
Ford will give reservation-holders the chance to order the truck starting in January.
About the Lightning
The Ford F-Series has been America’s best-selling vehicle for 43 years and is on pace to win that title again in 2021. The F-150 Lightning is an upcoming all-electric version of the F-Series.
Like most of today’s full-size pickup trucks, the Lightning can be many different types of truck.
In its simplest form, it’s a somewhat spartan work truck with 426 horsepower and about 230 miles of range. That version costs just under $40,000. With a sizeable collection of power outlets, it could appeal to commercial users looking for a truck on a proven, reliable platform that can drive to the job site and power some of the tools needed there.
At the top of the lineup, it’s a luxury truck with every creature comfort, 563 horsepower, and about 300 miles of range. That version can cost over $90,000. But it can power a home in a blackout for up to three days. Ford will offer BlueCruise for hands-free driving on 200,000 miles of highway.
But Can it Truck?
America’s automakers are going electric. Nearly every brand will introduce an electric vehicle (EV) in 2022. Many have set target dates for when they plan to see a lineup made up of all, or almost all, EVs.
But the three most popular vehicles in the U.S. are all full-size trucks: the F-150, the Chevy Silverado, and the Ram 1500. Surveys show that many Americans are skeptical that electric pickups will be able to play every role we ask our big trucks to play.
Ford says the F-150 Lightning will have a payload capacity of up to 2,000 pounds and a towing capacity of up to 10,000 pounds.
Ford has not, however, said what the range is with a load like that. Until the press gets a chance to test what a full bed or trailer does to the range, questions are likely to remain.
A 3-Year Wait
But those questions haven’t stopped potential buyers from spending $100 to line up for the chance to buy a Lightning.
Ford says it has received more than 200,000 reservations. The company has the capacity to build 15,000 of the trucks in 2022, 55,000 in 2023, and 80,000 in 2024.
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