At a fittingly electric launch party in Michigan, the Ford Motor Company has unveiled the all-electric F-150 Lightning.
“The F-150 Lightning will be the smartest, cleanest F-150 ever,” stated Bill Ford, Executive Chair of the Ford Motor Company.
The F-Series of trucks has been around since 1948 and the F-150 is labelled as Canada’s best-selling pickup truck for 11 years running, but the all-new Lightning is causing all-new levels of excitement.
“It’s going to be crazy,” said Chris Powers, Sales Consultant at Westview Ford in Courtenay. “Everyone is asking about electric trucks, they’ve been asking for years now and now that it’s actually out there we’re going to be flooded with inquiries.”
The F-150 Lightning will have a range of up to 480 km, 775 lb.-ft. of torque, 563 horsepower and a towing capacity of 10,000 pounds.
The base price in Canada will be $68,000, and with the Lightning, Ford says you get more than a truck.
“This truck can actually be used as a generator to run your home for three solid days,” said Powers.
The truck also comes with a “frunk” to store items in the front of the truck where the engine would normally be — similar to what Teslas have, since electric vehicles don’t have a conventional engine.
Also like a Tesla, the F-150 will come with a touchscreen in the cabin that’s almost 40 centimetres wide.
Sam Croome owns Two Roads Farm on Denman Island and has had an F-150 for six years. He told CHEK News that he can definitely see a Lightning in his future.
“We’re an organic market garden so we need to walk the talk so yeah we’re eyeing up all possibilities,” he said.
9.4 per cent of new vehicles sold in BC are electric and the number is even higher in Victoria at 12 per cent.
The Comox Valley Electric Vehicle Association — consisting of approximately 200 members — is excited to see the Lightning enter the EV market.
“We’re so stoked about the truck,” said Christine Van Den Meerssche. “Lots of things motive EV buyers but surely driving past the gas pumps is one of the big wow moments of your EV ownership, especially with a truck.”
The new Lightning is expected to be on dealership lots by late 2022 or early 2023.
Dean Stoltz
