When Ford announced they were building an electric F-150, many were skeptical. Would traditional pickup buyers desire or shun a green machine in the most traditional of vehicle categories? Well, if orders for the F-150 Lightning are any indication, Ford’s ambitious plan seems to have paid off. The waiting list for the e-truck is already over three years long.
In fact, Ford has received so many reservations that they’ve had to put a temporary stop on them. Dearborn is no longer taking the $100 refundable deposits. The landing page for the non-binding reservations now reads, “As we prepare to make history together, we’ve closed reservations so we can start accepting orders. Sign up for updates and get exciting news on the electric revolution. We can’t wait to get you behind the wheel of an F-150 Lightning truck.”
Initially, Dearborn said they planned to produce 15,000 units in the first year, when the truck launches in spring 2022. The following year, according to a Ford source, production would ramp up to 55,000. In 2024, that number would increase to 80,000 units, already representing a doubling from the initial target of 40,000 thanks to the authorization of an $850 million spend.
If you do the math, that’s 150,000 units. But as CEO Jim Farley told CNBC on Tuesday, Ford has received 200,000 reservations already. In other words, over three years of production capacity are already spoken for.
To compensate, Ford told Carscoops that they are looking into fast-tracking production to 80,000 in Lightning’s second year. If that happens, that’ll still be short of the backlog, assuming reservations turn into hard orders.
Ford had also set a target of 160,000 units a year by 2025, when the second-generation F-150 Lightning was set to debut. As it stands now, the truck looks to be a huge success — remember, Ford had expected 20,000 units a year initially — which should help quiet the skeptics.
Of course, not 100 percent of reservation holders will follow through, but it leaves those who do are lucky enough to get the truck with a new dilemma. Drive it or flip it? It’s clear the demand is there.
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Source: www.autoblog.com