Photo: Ford
Two months ago, the Ford Motor Company announced that it’s going to invest $250 million to double production at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center for the F-150 Lightning. Following this investment, the facility’s output grows to 80,000 units of the full-size pickup truck per year.
But guess what? Just like the Bronco, demand far outweighs the supply as U.S. motorists open up to all-electric vehicles. According to BloombergNEF chief content officer Nat Bullard, the F-150 Lightning has recently surpassed 160,000 reservations. That amounts to two years’ worth of full-capacity production, which is a very tall order for the manufacturer.
The biggest challenge to keeping up full-capacity production is the ongoing chip shortage, followed by the difficulties posed by sourcing enough battery cells. The F-150 Lightning is particularly intensive in this regard because the extended-range battery weighs over 1,800 pounds (816 kilograms). The base specification is no featherweight either at 6,500 pounds (2,948 kilograms), far more than the internal combustion-engined pickup truck.
Both standard- and extended-range models feature all-wheel drive in the guise of two inboard three-phase fixed magnet AC motors with internal PMAC controllers and transaxles. These motors are manufactured locally at the Van Dyke Electric Powertrain Center in Michigan, formerly known as the Van Dyke Transmission Plant. The facility started making trannies in 1993 with a four-speed automatic transaxle for the Taurus and the Windstar.
The F-150 Lightning Pro work-oriented trim level is priced at $39,974 before destination charge and tax incentives, which is pretty good value if you can live with approximately 230 miles (370 kilometers) of range from the standard pack. Customers who really need the larger battery will have to shell out $10,000 on top of that for a targeted driving range of 300 miles (483 kilometers), including a payload of 1,000 pounds (454 kilograms).
The biggest challenge to keeping up full-capacity production is the ongoing chip shortage, followed by the difficulties posed by sourcing enough battery cells. The F-150 Lightning is particularly intensive in this regard because the extended-range battery weighs over 1,800 pounds (816 kilograms). The base specification is no featherweight either at 6,500 pounds (2,948 kilograms), far more than the internal combustion-engined pickup truck.
Both standard- and extended-range models feature all-wheel drive in the guise of two inboard three-phase fixed magnet AC motors with internal PMAC controllers and transaxles. These motors are manufactured locally at the Van Dyke Electric Powertrain Center in Michigan, formerly known as the Van Dyke Transmission Plant. The facility started making trannies in 1993 with a four-speed automatic transaxle for the Taurus and the Windstar.
The F-150 Lightning Pro work-oriented trim level is priced at $39,974 before destination charge and tax incentives, which is pretty good value if you can live with approximately 230 miles (370 kilometers) of range from the standard pack. Customers who really need the larger battery will have to shell out $10,000 on top of that for a targeted driving range of 300 miles (483 kilometers), including a payload of 1,000 pounds (454 kilograms).
Also: Ford now has 160,000 reservations for the F-150 Lightning https://t.co/1i78QvqgSF
— Nat Bullard (@NatBullard) November 2, 2021
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