After nearly a year of waiting since first being announced, it’s finally time for the Ford F-150 Lightning to hit the streets. There’s a ton of excitement around Ford’s first all-electric pickup truck, and today the company confirmed its official launch date is only a few weeks away.
Update, 4/26/22: Ford is now officially beginning production of F-150 Lightning trucks at the company’s historic Rouge Complex.
Ford CEO Jim Farley took to Twitter and all but confirmed the truck would arrive on April 26th, 2022. In the tweet, Farley said, “it’s time,” along with an image that states, “F-150 Lightning Strikes April 26, 2022,” suggesting the truck will finally start shipping to buyers by the end of April, as initially promised.
We’re not sure if that date is the start of production or the beginning of deliveries, but several buyers responded to the tweet stating they’ve received emails that truck orders are being produced in mid-April.
Back in February, several buyers confirmed April 18th production dates. If true, it looks like we can expect the first of many Ford F-150 Lightning trucks on the road by the end of the month, or in early May.
While April 26th will be a massive day for Ford, especially if the electric truck finally starts shipping to buyers, the blue oval still has a long road ahead. If you pre-ordered the truck your first question is probably, “when will my truck ship?” and that’s a valid question. Several responses to the Ford CEO’s tweets suggest that many pre-orders won’t be filled until June.
Additionally, the F-150 Lightning was far better received than Ford expected, which led the company to double production expectations from 25,000 in 2021 to 50,000, then later increased that number to at least 80,000. Of course, saying it can build that many trucks and doing it is another story, so we’ll have to wait and see.
It’s no secret that auto manufacturers are struggling as of late, and that’s especially true when it comes to electric trucks.
This is good news and a big deal for Ford. Just know that if you haven’t pre-ordered the new F-150 Lightning yet, you won’t be getting one anytime soon. The company already shut down the pre-order list, has a massive backlog of over 200,000 orders, and will be extremely busy for the foreseeable future. Either way, I can’t wait to see how the Lightning compares to the Rivian R1T and other upcoming electric trucks.
via The Verge
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