Ford formally unveilied the new electric powered F-150 Lightning pickup on May 19, 2021 at its globe headquarters in Dearborn, Mich.
Michael Wayland / CNBC
DETROIT — If any individual doubted the great importance of the electrical Ford F-150 Lightning to Ford Motor, they should not right after the vehicle’s theatrical debut at the automaker’s globe headquarters this 7 days in Michigan.
Ford turned its 12-story house — known as the “Glass House” for its boxy, glass-clad present day layout — into a 64,000-sq.-foot projection display screen for the vehicle’s formal unveiling Wednesday night. It was an in excess of-the-major presentation that spoke to the importance of the car or truck and Ford’s pickup truck franchise, which hauls in the lion’s share of the firm’s gains.
Ford Chairman Invoice Ford referred to as it a “defining second” and a “historic working day” for the enterprise. Ford CEO Jim Farley stated it was a “moment of incredible pleasure” and would check whether mainstream People genuinely want electrical autos.
Ford did all the things it could to make the car pleasing to pickup truck prospects — from its selling price to its performance and style and design. It also added some astonishing features that would not be probable with a gas-powered motor vehicle, these types of as an enormous entrance trunk, or frunk, and the means to energy a dwelling for times.
Here is additional on those people options as effectively as other things to know about the truck.
Anti-Tesla layout
The pickup resembles the automaker’s current F-150 but incorporates new interior and exterior features. It is really driven by two electric motors and a battery pack instead of a classic fuel engine. It will be presented in two battery possibilities with targeted ranges of 230 miles or 300 miles, Ford mentioned.
The layout and operation of the F-150 Lightning pickup is intended to be a truck, “not a science experiment,” in accordance to Linda Zhang, main engineer of the motor vehicle.
A advertising shot of Tesla’s Cybertruck.
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Getting a jab at Tesla’s Cybertruck style, Jasen Turnbull, marketing supervisor for the Lightning, put it a diverse way: “Our consumers told us they want something modern and state-of-the-art, but did not want their truck to search like a doorstop or a spaceship,” he reported. “They preferred some thing unique but not distinct.”
Tesla’s approaching Cybertruck has a unique and polarizing layout that was encouraged by the movies “Blade Runner” and “The Spy Who Beloved Me.”
It can electrical power a residence
The F-150 Lightning is out there with 11 outlet plugs, together with four in the frunk and one particular 240-volt in the pickup box for hefty-responsibility devices. Using the vehicle’s battery, the truck also functions as an electrical generator. Dependent on the amount of money of electrical energy remaining drawn, it could power a property for up to 10 days, Ford stated.
Ford is partnering with photo voltaic business Sunrun to offer an at-house EV charger and an inverter that would automatically attract power from the truck when it really is plugged in — enough to electricity an whole household or particular crucial merchandise in the course of a power outage. They’ll also present photo voltaic set up for proprietors.
A existing hybrid electric-fuel model of the 2021 F-150 also features an electrical generator but not the amount of power of the EV edition.
The F-150 Lightning is estimated at up to 563 horsepower and 775 pound feet of torque — about 130 horsepower and 200 pound toes of torque much more than the leading-rated model with an motor.
‘Frunking awesome’
The Lightning also boasts a massive entrance trunk, or frunk.
The frunk, found exactly where the engine would generally be, is distinctive, as the vehicle’s grille is integrated into the hood. It produces an open up, flat region that’s easier to load and unload than a bin-style frunk found on most EVs. It adds 14.1 cubic ft of secured storage for dry or damp items. For the latter, it also options a drain at the bottom.
2022 Ford F-150 Lightning
Ford
“I like to say it can be frunking wonderful,” reported Nancy Reppenhagen, Ford supervisor of world-wide feature method who led advancement of the frunk. For tailgating, she claimed, it could be applied as a cooler, desk or stand for a large flat-display screen Tv set.
The frunk also characteristics four 110-volt outlet plugs and two USB ports for charging. It is intended to keep up to 400 kilos.
Price and gains
The vehicle’s price, much like the standard F-150, has a huge bandwidth. Ford reported a work-oriented model of the truck will start at $39,974. A lot more purchaser-centric designs will commence at $52,974 and best out at all around $90,000.
The “74” at the stop of the rate has a concealed that means, a Ford spokesman instructed CNBC. It is really a nod to the 74th anniversary of the Ford F-Sequence in 2022, which is the first product year of the F-150 Lightning.
Ford explained the car or truck will be successful, nonetheless, executives declined to remark on no matter whether each individual model would make dollars.
It is predicted to be one particular of the to start with mainstream electric pickups, if not the initial, when it arrives in dealer showrooms by mid-2022.
Reservations
Ford is having refundable $100 reservations for the F-150 Lightning on its web site. It took additional than 44,500 reservations in fewer than 48 several hours after the truck’s formal debut, Farley tweeted Friday morning. That was up from far more than 22,000 as of Thursday early morning.
“The reaction has been excellent,” Farley claimed during an job interview Thursday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
The robust response is not special. Two times immediately after unveiling the Tesla Cybertruck in November 2019, CEO Elon Musk tweeted that the company had taken 146,000 reservations for the steel trapezoid-formed pickup.
