If we look at the sales reports for the American mid-size pickup truck sector, we will quickly see there are no reasons to rejoice for Blue Oval's corner-office head honchos.
While we wait for the N400 Toyota Tacoma production to commence in December, it is understandable that the Japanese mid-size pickup truck best-seller lost the lead over the past quarter. The all-new Chevy Colorado overshadowed it, but Toyota's old Taco still held its own against the Jeep Gladiator, Nissan Frontier, or Honda Ridgeline.
Curiously (or not, depending on your POV), the old-school Ford Ranger was battling for last place with the much more expensive and posher GMC Canyon. Let's also look at the year-to-date delivery volumes where Toyota still reigns supreme, followed by GM's combined sales of Colorado and Canyon, the Nissan Frontier, Jeep Gladiator, and the unibody Honda Ridgeline.
Ford, meanwhile, needs to be really ashamed of itself – especially since the smaller Ford Maverick is doing so well against the Hyundai Santa Cruz, and the larger F-Series remains the best-selling truck nameplate in America, no matter what GM says. Anyway, with production of the all-new 2024 Ford Ranger finally off the ground at the end of August, there are high hopes for the new iteration – especially since it now includes the mighty Ranger Raptor version.
Alas, the FoMoCo bosses probably don't want that to be their only asset. So, just recently, the company again teased their Project T3 (nicknamed Millenium Falcon) – which underpins the development of their next-generation electric pickup truck platform. Obviously, everyone would suppose this is the second-generation F-150 Lightning we are discussing. However, they would be half right, as the modular architecture is destined not just for the F-150 but also for the Bronco and Ranger EVs!
As such, it is no wonder the imaginative realm of digital car content creators has now involved itself in the design process, trying to predict the ritzy, electrifying looks of the upcoming 2025 or 2026 Ford Ranger Lightning. The good folks over at the AutoYa info channel on YouTube are the ones who have imagined the CGI looks of the Ranger Lightning way ahead of time, but they're also very thorough about it.
Thus, the channel's host is preoccupied with sharing every bit of potential information regarding the arrival of the EV mid-size pickup truck that would easily eclipse other electrified offerings, such as the 326-hp Toyota Tacoma i-Force Max hybrid, claiming that the Ranger Lightning would have around 300 hp and 500 lb-ft (678 Nm) while also enough battery capacity for a range of about 300 miles (483 km).
Meanwhile, the resident pixel master was busy reworking the all-new 2024 Ranger with the distinctive styling DNA of the F-150 Lightning, showcasing the interior plus the rear POV, and also painting it in a series of ritzy colors to give us more than one choice. So, which one is your favorite?
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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