You can still reserve a new Ford F-150 Lightning — but there’s already quite a queue.
Within 12 hours of Ford’s reveal, the 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning already gathered some 20,000 reservations, CEO Jim Farley told CNBC. “The response has been great,” he said during an interview on the network’s “Squawk Box”. “With 20,000 orders already, we’re off to the races.”
While Ford brought in throngs of early adopters, Farley also mentioned the automaker has “made a call on volume”. It would limit first-year production, though it’s unclear exactly how many trucks Ford will build within the first 12 months, or how allocations would ramp up from there.
Right now, folks can reserve their Ford F-150 Lightning on the automaker’s dedicated site, with the truck’s MSRP starting at $39,974. The $100 deposit to place a reservation is refundable, as buyers won’t be able to actually configure their trucks until the fall. Now, bear in mind that is for the entry-level “commercial-oriented” version — a trim aimed at contractors and fleet customers. The ground floor for the truck most people will actually buy is the mid-range XLT, which starts at $52,974. From there, the trim walk includes the Lariat model before reaching the $90,474 Platinum. Customers will be able to take advantage of a $7,500 tax credit as well as state incentives that will effectively make the truck a bit less expensive.
Ford is rolling out the F-150 Lightning as others including Rivian, Tesla, Lordstown Motors and several others are vying to capture the first electric truck sales. “I am looking at this vehicle as a test for adoption for electric vehicles,” Farley said during the truck’s debut. “We should all watch very carefully how this does in the market.” As Ford’s highest-volume vehicle and America’s most popular truck, we’ll have to wait and see whether traditional F-150 buyers will gravitate toward the EV version, or Ford brings in new customers altogether by rolling out more EVs.
2022 Ford F-150 Lightning: Spec rundown
In case you missed our original post and video, here’s what the 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning brings to the table. While all versions are four-wheel drive, the standard battery model yields 423 horsepower and an EPA-estimated range up to 230 miles, per Ford’s official statement. The extended-range version ups the grunt to 563 horsepower, while the range also increases to 300 miles. Torque for both models remains the same at 775 lb-ft, while the Max Tow package offers up to 10,000 pounds of towing capacity. The base trucks will only be able to tow half that, with a max capacity of 5,000 pounds. Payload reaches up to 2,000 pounds if you opt for the base commercial truck with the standard-range battery pack.
The 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning also supports 150 kW DC fast charging, allowing owners to recharge their trucks from 15% to 80% state of charge, on the extended-range battery, in 41 minutes. The above range figures Ford claims are unladen figures, mind you, so how often you’ll have to lean on the FordPass (Electrify America) charging network while you’re towing is a relatively unknown quantity — at least until TFLtruck is able to test it.
Check out more on the new Ford F-150 Lightning below:
