How Significant Is The Electric Ford F-150 Lightning?

Tesla might be credited with bringing electric automobiles into the mainstream as desirable items. However, it has yet to win the hearts and minds of Americans to electrification. Because the average American does not own a $80,000 luxury vehicle or SUV like the Model S or X, or a mid-sized car or SUV like the Model 3 or Y. As a result, Ford’s announcement of an all-electric F-150 may be the most significant EV news in the United States to date.

To put things in perspective for non-American readers, the Ford F-150 is a legendary truck. It celebrates 43 years as the best-selling truck in the United States in early 2020. Ford sold 896,526 F-150s in 2019. It is not only the best-selling truck, but also the best-selling car overall. Despite the Covid-hit year of 2020, Ford managed to sell 787,422 F-series vehicles, a 34 percent increase over its closest competitor, the Chevrolet Silverado, which sold 586,675 units. That’s a huge pickup truck, as is America’s third best-selling car, the Ram pickup, which sold 563,676 units in 2020.

To get to a vehicle that isn’t a pickup truck, you have to go down to the fourth best-selling car in America, the Toyota RAV4, which sold 430,387 units in 2020. If you look a little deeper into the top 25 list for 2020, you’ll find two more pickups – the Toyota Tacoma and the GMC Sierra, which combined sold over half a million units. It is evident from this that the only way to win over America’s car-driving population is to use a truck.

Truck drivers, on the other hand, are the most adamant supporters of oil and gas. In fact, an employee of B&W Smith, an oil-related company, reportedly appeared to have blocked an entire bank of Tesla superchargers in Pennsylvania with their pickup and trailer, which may or may not have been planned but was certainly not thoughtful. Pickup trucks are usually always involved in the phenomenon of Teslas “coal rolling.” The average truck driver will be the most difficult to persuade that an EV is worth having, rather than simply liberal snowflake eco-nonsense.

An electric truck doesn’t simply have to be environmentally friendly to win over Pickup America. In reality, they’re almost unimportant. It needs to perform everything a truck does, but better. As a Ford F-150 owner herself, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow said it perfectly when she mentioned how the F-150 electric prototype pulled over a million pounds in 2019. This is something that no fossil-fueled pickup truck could accomplish.

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Other notable features of the Ford F-150 Lightning electric truck include 563 horsepower and 775 pound-feet of torque, which is claimed to be greater torque than any previous F-150. The production version can’t tow more than a million pounds, but it can carry 2,000 pounds (909 kilograms) and tow 10,000 pounds (4,500kg). It can also reach 60 miles per hour in about 4.5 seconds. To put that in context, the insane Ford F-150 Raptor accelerates to 60 mph in 5.5 seconds.

However, the Ford F-150 Lightning will be less expensive than the Raptor from the start, starting at under $40,000, and even the mid-series XLT version will be less expensive, starting at little under $53,000. It also has a lot of features, such as power outlets that can give up to 2.4kW as standard and more if needed. This might be a very valuable feature for workers who need to utilise electrical power tools on a job site where there is no existing mains power.

The range on a single charge is one area where the F-150 Lightning may still fall short. The base model will have an EPA range of 230 miles, while the larger battery variant will have a range of 300 miles. Even with 16 mpg combined and a 26-gallon tank, the F-150 Raptor, with 16 mpg combined and a 26-gallon tank, should be able to go over 400 miles. As a result, EV-hating truck owners may continue to criticise the Lightning in this area. The F-150 is stated to be able to recharge 54 miles every 10 minutes and 15 percent to 80 percent in 41 minutes with a 150kW DC fast charger, which is not as fast as a short fossil fuel stop.

Regardless, the F-150 Lightning is a capable vehicle. It’s quick, powerful, and capable of towing large loads as well as powering your work gear. It also has the same appearance as a conventional F-150, with the exception of the front air inlet. Yes, Tesla is working on a Cybertruck, which, like everything else Tesla has ever built, is likely to outperform the competition in terms of raw capabilities, even the F-150 Lightning. But, unlike the F-150 Lightning, its oddly slanted appearance are likely to upset conservative pickup drivers.

The launch of the Ford F-150 Lightning isn’t getting much press in Europe because pickups aren’t the most popular vehicles here (where I’m writing from). Subcompacts like the Toyota Yaris and compacts like the Volkswagen Golf are popular, although SUVs are the most popular overall. However, America is a large car-buying market, and EVs must win there in order to control the world. To succeed in the United States, electric vehicles must be capable pickups. The Ford F-150 Lightning could be the truck that makes it possible.

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