Ford Doubling Lightning Pickup Production: Report

• Lightning may be striking again as production plans increase based on orders

• Demand for first mainstream EV pickup higher than expected

Demand for the Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickup is so high that the company has reportedly doubled its production targets for the model. That means nearly $1B in extra spending to help meet the target, says Reuters, citing several people and suppliers familiar with the plan.

Sources said Ford had initially expected to sell around 40,000 of the electric pickups when it launched next year. Now, Ford is targeting 80,000 trucks per year by 2024, as more buyers than expected have shown interest in moving to an EV pickup.

“They were pleasantly surprised by the demand for the Lightning,” one of the sources said of Ford officials.

According to Reuters, Ford now plans to build 15,000 Lightning trucks next year, 55,000 for 2023, 80,000 for 2024, and, when the second generation arrives in late 2025, to build just shy of 160,000 per year. While the first-generation truck is heavily based on the gas-powered F-150, the second-gen is expected to use its own platform.

“We are excited with customer demand for the F-150 Lightning and already have 120,000 customer reservations, and we will continue to look for ways to break constraints and meet customer demand,” Ford said in a statement.

The EV pickup is quickly heating up with General Motors about to arrive on the scene with the GMC Hummer EV and Rivian’s R1T pickup deliveries imminent.