Ford has now amassed more than 160,000 paid pre-order reservations on its F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck since May.
The US automaker has been taking refundable US$100 (A$134) deposits ahead of mass-production of its hyped rival to the GMC Hummer EV, Rivian R1T and Tesla Cybertruck.
The company recently started producing pre-production versions of the Lightning – with mass-produced versions expected in mid-2022 according to Ford Lightning Forum.
Order books for the F-150 Lightning are expected to officially open in December 2021 having been delayed by a few weeks.
Rivian is currently leading the all-electric pickup truck pack with its R1T model that commenced mass-production and deliveries in September 2021.
Seeing Ford has accumulated so many pre-orders it now faces another dilemma: producing enough cars to satisfy them. It’s a similar story for many brands due to semiconductor shortages.
But longer term Ford is doubling its production target to more than 80,000 Lightnings per year in 2024, as reported by Reuters.
In order to make this happen, the company is reportedly intending to splurge an additional US$850 million (A$1.14 billion).
Ford reportedly has expected production targets for the F-150 Lightning of:
- 2022: 15,000
- 2023: 55,000
- 2024: more than 80,000
Adding all of these figures together comes to a total of approximately 150,000 F-150 Lightning models built until the end of 2024.
Although many people will ask for a refund on their deposit, Ford seemingly needs to do something about its production volume regardless given demand.
The company is already planning to develop the next-generation F-Series truck at its Blue Oval City production hub, and will pump US$5.6 billion (A$7.5 billion) into creating this 3600 acre facility to be operational by 2025.
This second-generation F-150 Lightning is due in 2025 and will ride on the company’s new TE1 body-on-frame EV architecture.
Annual production of the F-150 Lightning is expected to be around 150,000 once the second-generation model debuts.
Ford previously announced that it’s increasing its spending on electric vehicle technology to over US$30 billion (A$40.25 billion) by 2025.
Pricing in the USA for the current-generation F-150 Lightning when it goes on sale will kick off at US$40,000 (A$53,671) for the base model.
Claimed range is 370km in the standard model, and 480km in the long range.
With 420kW of power and 1050Nm of torque in the most powerful dual-motor variant, the F-150 Lightning will do the 0-100km/h sprint in the mid-four-second range.
The Standard Range model will have an identical torque output, but ‘just’ 318kW instead.
At its fastest, the F-150 Lighting will charge at 150kW when plugged into a DC fast charger.
Standard-range Lightning models will have a 900kg payload on 18-inch alloy wheels, and maximum towing capacity will be 4535kg on long-range XLT and Lariat models.
MORE: Ford F-150 Lightning EV: Production doubled due to demand – report
