Ford Motor Co (NYSE: F) on Wednesday launched the F-150 Lightning, the electric version of its most profitable and popular pickup truck, at a ticket price of $39,974 onwards for the base model and a range of 230 miles.
What Happened: Ford has started accepting bookings for the electric F-150 Lightning pickup, which will go on sale mid-next year, in the U.S.
Production of the new electric pickup is expected to start next spring in Michigan, the company said.
“This is a defining moment for Ford and a watershed moment for the industry,” Chairman Bill Ford said during the launch.
Ford’s opening salvo comes at a time when rivals like General Motors Co (NYSE: GM) and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA), Ford and Amazon.com Inc-backed (NASDAQ: AMZN) Rivian are preparing to launch their own electric pickups.
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The F-150 Lightning will come in two battery options with an extended range of 300 miles and its most expensive variant will be priced at about $90,000. The automaker has started taking reservations with an advance payment of $100 for the F-150 Lightning on its website.
Tesla’s Cybertruck will go into production in late 2021, the company said on Wednesday. Cybertruck’s single motor variant will be priced at $39,900 before incentives, and there will be more models which are going to start at $49,900 and $69,900.
The Cybertruck started accepting bookings in November 2019 and Elon Musk had last year at its Battery Day event given an estimate of between half a million and 600,000 customers being on the waitlist for its electric pickup truck.
GM, which announced plans for the Hummer EV last October, is expected to be a more niche product with a ticket price of $112,595 for its most powerful variant. Rivian, a more lifestyle product, is expected to go on sale with a $67,500 price tag.
Why It Matters: Musk in response to a news article posted on Twitter congratulated Ford on what he described as the legacy automaker “embracing an electric future!”
Ford’s fortune lies in the mass acceptance of its new lightning truck. Amid a pandemic, the automaker sold 787,422 F-series trucks in 2020, representing 38.5% of the company’s total U.S. sales.
See Also: Hyundai Commits $7.4B To Make Electric Vehicles In US
Pricing is going to be a detrimental factor in how quickly customers switch over to electric vehicles from the gas-powered engines. Batteries constitute the bulk of EV costs and all automakers are focusing on developing batteries with better range.
Price Action: Ford shares closed 0.25% lower at $12.11 on Wednesday.
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Photo Courtesy: Ford
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