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BFD Expert Voices - Climate Deals

BFD Expert Voices

Automakers love to talk "heritage." And Ford loves the heritage of the F-150. It sells it as a time machine that lets potential buyers reclaim days of blue-collar youth, real or imagined. 

Why it matters: Ford, an automaker that's spent decades defining itself by invoking its past, in 2019 took what was then an unimaginable step:

The great American monument to bureaucracy relaunched itself as the country's electric automaker — led not by a new model, but by its three icons: the Mustang, the Transit work van and the F-150.

Four years later, Ford seems to be pulling it off.

What's happening: Ford introduced its electric F-150 Lightning in May. It's been delivering them as fast as it can make them ever since. 

Roughly 200,000 reservations were made even before the vehicle debuted. And Ford won't fulfill the last of those until the end of 2023.

Context: Ford's F-series trucks aren't simply the country's most popular pickups. They're the bestselling vehicles period.

That's across segments: family haulers, work trucks and, importantly, even luxury vehicles. 

The skeptics (mayhaps cynics) among us see the nostalgia play as pure marketing, of course. But then you drive the new F-150 Lightning and you get stopped, time and again, by grown men and women eager to tell you about their father's or grandfather's F-150 pickup. 

As they run their hands along the electric pickup you'd just parked outside some restaurant or grocery store or CVS, you start to wonder if it's something more than marketing after all. 

Zoom in: The F-150 is the most popular vehicle for drivers making $250,000 or more, according to the New Vehicle Customer Survey from Maritz.

That's exactly the pool of buyers you'd want to have for your new, tech-forward electric vehicle. 

Of note: The Lightning's sales have outpaced even Ford's expectations. The automaker has nearly doubled its production plans to meet demand.

It's similarly increased its investment in EVs: to as much as $50 billion from a planned $30 billion.

The intrigue: Ford's move to electrify its most popular models might seem a no-brainer. It wasn't.

GM and Nissan, which introduced EVs ahead of Ford, believed that only a small slice of the U.S. market would want an EV. 

They each introduced a reasonable, relatively affordable electric hatchback: a pair of good-for-you, practical, reasonably affordable daily drivers with about as much sex appeal as lentils. 

Be smart: Those initial vehicles, combined with Tesla's booming sales, were vital for developing consumer awareness, supply chain infrastructure and manufacturing know-how. 

"Consumer demand was going up. Battery costs were coming down, as well as EV infrastructure," Ford's Jasen Turnbull tells Alan.

That paved the way for Ford, which then leveraged its dominance in the U.S. truck market. 

"We know trucks, we know commercial trucks, and we felt we could cement our leadership out of the gate," Turnbull says.

1 big thing: Electrifying an icon

A close-up image of the "Lightning" logo on the side of a blue Ford F-150 pickup.

 Small details like the logo tell folks that that F-150 they're looking at is a little different.  Photo: Alan Neuhauser

I picked up a fully charged F-150 Lightning and spent a week crisscrossing the Boston area — and getting approached time and again by folks wanting a closer look. 

Price as tested: ~$94,000 for the top-of-the-line Platinum trim.

Range: 230 miles standard. An extra $12,500 gets you to 320 miles.

Charge time: About 40 minutes to the recommended 80%. A touch on the long side.

Smooth, powerful driving experience. An apartment on wheels.

"Lightning" indeed. This was the first EV ride to snap me back in my seat.

Clever design elements. From the center console that converts into a desk, to the center gear-shift that folds flat, I wrote more than one story behind the wheel. Parked, of course.

I'll have to unpack in therapy what this says about me and my relationship with masculinity, but the bulky shifter and boxy styling sure did resonate. 

Cavernous interior. I typically sit next to the kiddo's car seat while buckling her in. I was able to stand in the F-150.

The seats arguably could've been more plush at $94k. But this is designed to be a work truck. 

Tough sightlines. Like lots of American trucks, the hood is huge — I'm  5-foot-8, and it nearly reaches my eyebrows. It's all too easy to miss seeing a pedestrian entering a crosswalk.

If you plan to do any long-range towing, this might not be the truck for you. More on that below.

The bottom line: The F-150 is almost everything you could want in a work truck or family hauler, towing shortfalls aside. It shows what Ford can achieve — and what an electric truck can be. 

2. The BFD: Drive the Lightning

A blue Ford F-150 Lightning pickup truck sits at a charging station.

The F-150 Lightning largely incorporates traditional design elements. Photo: Alan Neuhauser

The F-150 Lightning was just the second electric pickup to arrive in America's driveways. The market is about to become more crowded.

Why it matters: Ford is planning to cement its lead with a second pickup model — one that's more aerodynamic and "futuristic" looking to improve towing range.

Catch up fast: The all-electric automaker Rivian was the first to the U.S. pickup segment. Its R1T is oriented toward upmarket customers, with a focus on off-roading instead of work. 

The R1T, for example, includes an option for a built-in camp-kitchen that slides from beneath the truck bed. 

By contrast, marketing for the F-150 Lightning has emphasized how it can provide on-site power for worksites and even at home. The key message: This is the truck you know and love, but better. 

Zoom in: "For the truck owner, we wanted them to not really have to think about where the shifter is or the pedal — the bed liner is identical, the interior hard points," Ford's Jasen Turnbull says. 

"We had to balance a traditional truck with the design, who the customer is, and their familiarity. We’re learning now from customers in the real-world market."

What's next: Ford is leveraging those lessons into a second, more streamlined electric truck it plans to begin building in 2025. 

"Traditionally, design is a separate input from aerodynamics," Turnbull says. "Now we're putting aerodynamics earlier" in the development process.

"It might look a little more futuristic for efficiency."

Yes, but: It won't look like Tesla's doorstop-like Cybertruck, he says.

Meanwhile: Ford's biggest challenge will likely come from Chevrolet. But the electric version of its popular Silverado pickup won't arrive until 2024.

In the meantime, there's the Hummer EV from GMC, which isn't exactly seen as a work vehicle. 

Then there's the Endurance from troubled startup Lordstown Motors, which has so far underwhelmed reviewers.

Flashback: As noted, the F-150 isn't the only legacy brand that Ford has electrified. Its icons are the core of its EV strategy.

Preceding the F-150 was the Mustang Mach-E, a muscular crossover that quickly became the most popular non-Tesla on the market.

Then there's the electric version of the Transit work van, which has become nearly impossible to find. 

The bottom line: Drivers are buying F-150 Lightnings as fast as Ford can make them. But a year passes quickly when developing a new vehicle — 2023 and 2024 will be crucial as Ford looks to defend its market share.

3. Ford's vision of the future

A picture of the front of the Ford F-150 Lightning at night.

The F-150 Lightning includes distinctive headlights. Photo: Alan Neuhauser

Data: Automotive News Research & Data Center; Chart: Axios Visuals

Ford sold about 8,760 of its F-150 Lightning pickups through Q3. Meanwhile, Tesla remains dominant. 

4. How the sales stack up

This week, we're driving the Ford F-150 Lightning, and it is simply the truck to beat.

That's it for Climate Wheels! Next up: the Genesis G80 — an old-school luxury sedan. Plus, GMC just dropped off a Hummer EV for the week, so there's plenty of fun coming in 2023.

December 10, 2022

1 big thing: Electrifying an icon