There's a New Ford Lightning—But It's Not Completely Electric
Ford is killing the standard F-150 Lightning for a new Lightning EREV model with a gas generator.
At its core, the Lightning EREV is still technically an electric truck. A battery pack and electric motors still power all four wheels, delivering the same instant torque and acceleration drivers expect from the current Lightning. Where the EREV differs, though, is with the addition of a gas-powered generator. This generator dramatically extends the truck’s range, boosting it from the current model’s max of 320 miles to an estimated 700-plus miles.
The pivot will come with a substantial price tag for Ford. The company will take a $19.5 billion hit to reshape its EV business strategy. Most of those charges, including an $8.5 billion writedown of its EV assets, will be recorded in the fourth quarter. Ford said $5.5 billion in cash is to be charged through 2027.
Ford still plans to produce a midsize electric pickup truck with a target starting price of about $30,000, to be available in 2027. That will be the first of the “affordable” electric vehicle models it’s currently designing at a skunkworks studio in California, which are slated to use a “universal” platform architecture that will make the vehicles cheaper to produce.
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