The Ford F-150 Lightning electrical pickup has been one of the talked-about automobiles in America since its 2021 debut. Nevertheless it hasn’t been one of many best to seek out. Ford bought about 200,000 reservations for the truck inside weeks of its debut, then closed them down. A brand new report says sellers will start taking orders even for non-reservation holders tomorrow.
The report comes from the LightningOwners.com discussion board. It cites an e mail reportedly despatched to sellers final week that claims Ford will open the 2023 Lightning order financial institution “to all clients. No reservation is required to ensure that clients to put an order. Previous to this date, clients wanted a reservation and have been invited to put an order via the F-150 Lightning Reservation to Order Program.”
We don’t know, nevertheless, what worth consumers must pay. The doc additionally says a worth replace is approaching Might 9. Presently, costs run from practically $60,000 to over $100,000.
Now we have a pure skepticism of web discussion board reviews. However Ford executives hinted on their first-quarter earnings name that the transfer could be coming quickly.
The phrase “order financial institution” is necessary right here. A reservation and an order are two various things. When Ford launched the truck, the corporate bought reservations, not orders. A reservation price $100 on the time, was not binding, and earned the holder the correct to order a truck later. Ford invited reservation-holders in waves to order vehicles.
Ford initially constructed vehicles at a slower tempo and mentioned it may take three years to clear the backlog of reservations of each hand-raiser that positioned an order. However the firm has been working to broaden manufacturing unit capability. Simply 16 months later, it’s now snug taking new orders.
In a March press launch, Ford mentioned it’s on tempo to triple manufacturing this yr, “focusing on an annual manufacturing run fee of 150,000 by the top of 2023.”
New orders shall be restricted to sure trims. The doc says sellers ought to settle for orders for less than the XLT, Lariat, and Platinum fashions. Ford says the entry-level Professional trim is bought out for the yr.