Despite repeatedly claiming that the Ford F-150 Lightning was “revolutionary” and sold better than any other pickup-shaped EV in the United States, the company decided not to refresh it for the next model year and stop all production before the end of December.
No reasoning was provided, but we suspect that the ongoing slowdown of the EV market is primarily to blame. The Lightning may be gone for now, but the automaker is already working on a serial-hybrid replacement for it. According to Doug Field, the executive in charge of Ford’s EV branch, such a pickup will be able to use its petrol engine to generate more power for the electric motors, extending its total range to 700 miles (1,125 kilometers) and likely beyond. Since range is the biggest gripe of many EV owners, it sounds like a viable compromise.
By the beginning of the next decade, the Blue Oval expects electrified vehicles to amount to 50% or more in its global sales volume. It currently sits at a modest 17% even with all the hybrid variants included.
It remains unclear when the next Ford F-150 Lightning generation may be ready for the mass market. Considering the company’s recent intent to switch from larger and poorly selling utility vehicles to smaller, more affordable models, it may take a while to arrive.
