AutoForecast Solutions says the next-generation Ford F-150 Lightning has a production start date of August 18, 2025. After that, AFS predicts four months of production overlap between it and the current F-150 Lightning, which is expected to remain in production until December 24 of that year. These are two more speculative pieces in the hazy puzzle of Ford’s electric truck strategy over the next few years. Based on news reports as well as comments from Ford CEO Jim Farley since the first F-150 Lightning launch, we know there’s a lot coming, but it’s not clear how much will be exclusive to the Lightning line or will be folded into a new pickup.
The coming electric full-sizer will ride on the new TE1 platform that might also be headed for the Expedition and Lincoln Navigator, the dedicated EV platform shedding platform ties to the traditional ICE F-150 while getting better batteries and more range. The BlueOval City production complex in Tennessee will also build another EV pickup, one Farley told Automotive News will be “a vehicle we do not have today [on] a brand-new platform — a full-size pickup platform. We think it’s going to be incredibly high volume.” That’s a pickup Ford has also described as “a next-gen electric truck, different from the F-150 Lightning.” Laycee at the Miss GoElectric YouTube channel said she spoke to Farley at the Lighting launch earlier this year and was told the pickup would have a radical and perhaps controversial design, active aerodynamics, and be able to offer around 100 miles more range than the F-150 Lightning. Whatever this rig is, Lacey said Ford’s been working on it for roughly 2½ years.
Reports say there’s an electric Ranger and an electric Bronco on the way. Between those and whatever else Ford’s cooking up, it’s hard to tell where the Lightning ends and new products begin. And what kind of vehicle does Ford not have today that sits on a full-size platform, can be generously described as a truck, and is incredibly high volume? The electric Ford Explorer and Lincoln Aviator are due in 2025, if those can be called “trucks.”
In the meantime, the current Lightning and the Mustang Mach-E are still waiting to move to Sync 4A infotainment before a delayed switch to Android Automotive. The overhauled Sync is said to bring customer-requested features like a refreshed interface, larger icons, and new HVAC control using the audio knob.
On the ICE side, Ford Authority reports the next gas- and diesel-powered F-150 will debut next year for the 2024 model year.
Source: www.autoblog.com