Ford F-150 Lightning to be up to $10,000 cheaper

Ford is slashing the price of its F-150 Lightning in the US. Depending on the variant, the electric pickup now costs up to 10,000 dollars less. The new base price for the F-150 Lightning is 49,995 dollars.

Ford says it is “taking advantage of increased plant capacity, continued work on scaling production and cost, and improving battery raw material costs.” Customers will therefore get their pickup “at an MSRP closer to initial Lightning pricing,” says Ford. The carmaker had increased prices for the F-150 Lightning by as much as 8,500 dollars last year. The company is now turning back time. The discounted models will be delivered to customers starting in October.

The price reductions vary from variant to variant. Sales tax is not yet included in the price. The biggest price drop is in the entry-level Pro model, which now costs 49,995 dollars instead of 59,974. The XLT Standard Range and the XLT Extended Range will be roughly $9,000 cheaper and will be available from 54,995 and 69,995 dollars, respectively. The Lariat trim, where customers can also choose between Standard and Extended Range, will start at 69,995 and 77,495 dollars, respectively. They previously sold for 76,974 and 85,974 dollars. The top model remains the Platinum Extended Range, now listed at 91,995 dollars – 6,000 dollars cheaper.

Meanwhile, Ford notes that its Michigan plant is currently closed to complete the modernisation of the factory and triple the annual production rate to 150,000 F-150 Lightning. The plant upgrade is expected to start paying off in autumn. The factory upgrade, combined with improving battery raw material costs and continued work on scaling production and cost, enabled the carmaker to slash prices for the F-150 Lightning in the first place.

In addition, Ford launched a national summer promotion in the US, offering a 1,000 dollars bonus on XLT, Lariat and Platinum models in July. Some variants also qualify for US tax credits of up to 7,500 dollars.

“Shortly after launching the F-150 Lightning, rapidly rising material costs, supply constraints and other factors drove up the cost of the EV truck for Ford and our customers,” says Marin Gjaja, chief customer officer, Ford Model e. “We’ve continued to work in the background to improve accessibility and affordability to help to lower prices for our customers and shorten the wait times for their new F-150 Lightning.”

It is surely no coincidence that Ford announced price cuts for the F-150 Lightning immediately after the first Tesla Cybertruck rolled off the production line in Texas. In any case, Elon Musk taunts on Twitter that the Ford F-150 Lightning is “a good vehicle, just a little expensive” – an indication that Tesla’s Cybertruck will be less expensive than the competition.

Meanwhile, the number of F-150 Lightning sold increased in the second quarter of 2023 – despite the higher prices. The manufacturer sold 4,466 units between April and July. That is more than twice as many as in the same quarter last year. In the first half of 2023, Ford sold 8,757 units (+281 %).

ford.com, twitter.com (Musk), ford.com (sales figures)