What is the highest-selling vehicle in the U.S.? The Toyota Camry and Honda Civic are obvious contenders. As SUVs have ascended, though, the Rav4, CR-V, and Chevy Equinox have come to seem ubiquitous. These are all popular vehicles, all good guesses… and all wrong for one reason: Americans love pickup trucks.
And among pickups, there’s a clear favorite. The Ford F-Series (primarily the F-150 “light duty” and F-250 “super duty” trucks) has outsold every other automobile in every single year going back to 1981! Even in a pandemic-affected year, nearly 800,000 new F-Series trucks were sold in the U.S. in 2020.
Then, an announcement from the past week landed like a bolt from the sky: Ford has revealed an electric version of its F-150 truck, called the F-150 Lightning.
While it’s usually tech industry launches that are known for their theatrics, Ford upped the bar with a presidential endorsement, getting Joe Biden gleefully zooming around a Michigan test track.
Early reactions have been mostly enthusiastic, and expectations are high (the NYT suggested this could be the “Model T of EVs”). With a ~$40,000 base, prior to a $7,500 tax credit, it is comparable in price to the equivalent “SuperCab” versions of the gas-powered F-150. Thanks in part to sharing many interior components with its gas siblings, Ford expects the Lightning lineup to be profitable from the start.
A slew of features, functional or just cool, further make the case for the Lightning. That this truck can provide backup power to a house and act as a worksite generator will turn heads, as will the added convenience of extra storage in a “frunk” where an engine normally would be. Towing will eat into the driving range, of course, but it does that for gas trucks, too. And, hey, despite the brawny image that pickup trucks have, many buyers aren’t actually using them for their rugged utility:
According to Edwards’ data, 75 percent of truck owners use their truck for towing one time a year or less (meaning, never). Nearly 70 percent of truck owners go off-road one time a year or less. And a full 35 percent of truck owners use their truck for hauling—putting something in the bed, its ostensible raison d’être—once a year or less.
As The Simpsons’ memorable “Canyonero” jingle put it, the real appeal is the perception of a vehicle that “smells like a steak and seats thirty-five… a squirrel-crushing, deer-smacking, driving machine!”
Now, then, let’s apply some perspective. The Lightning is still nearly a year away from arrival, and will complement—not replace—Ford’s gas-powered F-series lineup. It’s yet unknown what adoption levels of this electric version will be. (CEO Jim Farley touted ~45,000 reservations in the first two days, but as this only requires a fully-refundable $100 payment, this should be considered a now-common marketing tactic, not an indication of actual orders.)
Farley and others at the company are also still clearly sensitive to their traditional customer base and have been quick to point out the Lightning’s relative normalcy. It’s “not a science experiment” nor “spaceship,” not “a truck for shock value”, they’ve said in comments clearly aimed at Tesla’s sci-fi inspired Cybertruck concept.
Nonetheless, I believe this is a significant milestone to be cheered by anyone enthusiastic about a lower-emissions future of transportation. At a national level, EVs have thus far merely nibbled at the edges, acquiring a 1%-2% share of the market. Headlines such as an “electric Popemobile” are entertaining, but the Lightning represents the electrification of what’s actually at the heart of consumer demand.
This is demand, moreover, for a known and loved brand, not an upstart. There’s an easier path to adoption here than for the Cybertruck to catch on or for Rivian to build its brand from scratch. And so, in the EV world, all eyes are on Ford to see if they can pull this thing off!