Photo: Ford | Edited
Following a botched first quarter due to a battery issue that prompted Ford to halt F-150 Lightning production and deliveries, things are finally looking up. The Blue Oval announced to its dealers that the reservation program would no longer be needed, and everyone will be able to order the electric truck starting on May 9.
Ford F-150 Lightning is, next to the Rivian R1T, among the most popular electric pickup trucks on the market. Yet, the start of 2023 hasn't been easy, with a battery fire causing an extended production halt. Ford had to report lackluster sales in the quarter, with less than 5,000 electric trucks sold. Production resumed mid-March, although deliveries lingered because the trucks were built without the battery packs. Despite this hiccup, Ford announced during the first-quarter earnings call that the order banks would reopen for reservation holders.
Ford had 200,000 reservations for the F-150 Lightning, and it predicted to reach a 150,000 annual production capacity by year's end. This meant that many reservation holders would have a long wait before being invited to place an order. After all, Ford only produced 16,000 electric trucks in 2022. Yet, in a surprising move, Ford sent a letter to its dealers instructing them to let everyone order the truck, even those without a reservation. This reflects optimism that production will scale according to plan.
The letter was shared in the Lightningowners.com forum, revealing that the order books will reopen on May 9 for the 2023MY F-150 Lightning. Dealers and the Ford.com website will start taking orders with no reservations needed. Before that, reservation holders were invited to place an order when their time would come. According to the letter, only the XLT, Lariat, and Platinum trims will be available for ordering. The Pro variant is sold out for the entire model year.
Ford will announce an F-150 Lightning price update on May 9. The carmaker warns dealers to review it with their sales teams before accepting orders. We have no idea whether this means a price cut or a new increase. For did raise the F-150 Lightning prices at the end of March by as much as $4,000 for the sold-out Pro trim. Other trims were also affected, but the price increases were significantly smaller, with a $1,200 bump for the Platinum and $1,500 for the Lariat.
Ford recently lowered the Mustang Mach-E prices in response to Tesla's price cuts, but the F-150 Lightning doesn't have a direct competitor from Tesla yet. However, the first-quarter financial results showed Ford is losing insane amounts of money on its Model e EV business. For every electric vehicle it sells, the Blue Oval takes a $60,000 hit, so we expect to raise the F-150 Lightning price significantly. The move will undoubtedly make many reservation holders give up. This explains why Ford is opening the order books to everyone.
Ford had 200,000 reservations for the F-150 Lightning, and it predicted to reach a 150,000 annual production capacity by year's end. This meant that many reservation holders would have a long wait before being invited to place an order. After all, Ford only produced 16,000 electric trucks in 2022. Yet, in a surprising move, Ford sent a letter to its dealers instructing them to let everyone order the truck, even those without a reservation. This reflects optimism that production will scale according to plan.
The letter was shared in the Lightningowners.com forum, revealing that the order books will reopen on May 9 for the 2023MY F-150 Lightning. Dealers and the Ford.com website will start taking orders with no reservations needed. Before that, reservation holders were invited to place an order when their time would come. According to the letter, only the XLT, Lariat, and Platinum trims will be available for ordering. The Pro variant is sold out for the entire model year.
Ford will announce an F-150 Lightning price update on May 9. The carmaker warns dealers to review it with their sales teams before accepting orders. We have no idea whether this means a price cut or a new increase. For did raise the F-150 Lightning prices at the end of March by as much as $4,000 for the sold-out Pro trim. Other trims were also affected, but the price increases were significantly smaller, with a $1,200 bump for the Platinum and $1,500 for the Lariat.
Ford recently lowered the Mustang Mach-E prices in response to Tesla's price cuts, but the F-150 Lightning doesn't have a direct competitor from Tesla yet. However, the first-quarter financial results showed Ford is losing insane amounts of money on its Model e EV business. For every electric vehicle it sells, the Blue Oval takes a $60,000 hit, so we expect to raise the F-150 Lightning price significantly. The move will undoubtedly make many reservation holders give up. This explains why Ford is opening the order books to everyone.
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