Ford to revive F-150 Lightning nameplate for new electric pick-up
Battery electric version of Ford's US best-seller set to be revealed next week
Ford will revive the F-150 Lightning nameplate for the first fully electric version of its hugely successful American market pick-up truck, which will be revealed next week.
The new battery electric version of Ford’s best-selling model in the US is considered key to the firm’s electrification targets, and will rival the likes of Tesla’s forthcoming Cybertruck when it goes on sale in the US in 2022.
The heavy duty EV will revive the Lightning badge, which was previously used in the 1990s for a number of road-focused performance versions of the F150. That follows a trend to revive classic nameplates for EVs set by the firm with the Mustang Mach-E SUV.
Ford has yet to reveal technical details of the F-150 Lightning, but the firm has promised it will offer the “power, payload and towing capability that is the hallmark” of all Ford pick-ups.
Ford boss Jim Farley said: “Every so often, a new vehicle comes along that disrupts the status quo and changes the game: the Model T, Mustang, Prius, Model 3. Now comes the F-150 Lightning.
“America’s favourite vehicle for nearly half a century is going digital and fully electric. F-150 Lightning can power your home during an outage; it’s even quicker than the original F-150 Lightning performance truck; and it will constantly improve through over-the-air updates.”
The machine will be built at the Ford Rough Complex in Dearborn, Michigan.
Ford’s F-Series of pick-ups launched in the US in 1948, and the new model due in 2022 will be the 14th generation. Ford sold more than 730,000 F-Series trucks in the US last year. It is not offered for sale in the UK.
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