What Killed the Electric Truck? Or Is It Just Too Soon? We Take a Closer Look
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- Опубликовано: 2 мар 2024
- Electric trucks are selling, just not in the numbers that most automakers had hoped.
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There are pros and cons, but the reason ford never saw follow through from all the pre orders was strictly because of the bait and switch they pulled. At $40,000, they would have sold a shit ton of them. But those trucks became fleet only, and us consumers were stuck with $90k-$100k trucks... with $15k + mark ups.
When i saw title of the video, i thought the same thing.
Exactly this. Ford can blame anyone they want, but this is the truth.
Well said!
The price increase is why no one purchased the trucks for sure.
This is the truth. So many people were excited for the $40,000 Lightning…and then just before release, they change it to fleet only. Plain ridiculous. I understand selling large amounts of smaller priced vehicles at a fleet amount to get them out there, make money, etc…but it was an ugly thing to do switching it like that, forcing consumers to buy their ridiculous $100,000 USD markup lightnings. Ford, GM, etc are all
Trying to weasel out of it and making excuses after excuses for why they’re scaling back EV…yet they refuse to admit the truth. That they themselves are the ones to blame
They promised a 40k ev truck, they didn’t deliver. That said, the Lightning has been my favorite truck that I’ve owned but I have a home to charge at and don’t tow long distances.
Yup. 100%
I'm moving to a single detached just to get back my 15 hours a week I spend at a charger.
@@TravisSloat-ln2xv I spend less time charging now than I did stopping off at the gas station on my way to work. A quick plug in when I get home- I have a full tank of electrons in the morning.
@bostondan77 I'm envious but too poor to justify buying one. Thus, I still wait in line at Costco stuck behind trucks and SUVs loading up $100-$150 of gas. Also envious those people make that much on a typical lunch break.
@@foxtrotwolf6081I basically stopped driving my f150 EcoBoost, it got to expensive, about 85 dollars or more per week than my V6 automobile
I have a 2022 lightning PRO. I live 45 minutes from the nearest big city and use my lightning for farm chores all the time. I love it and have found payload does not affect it, just aerodynamic obstructions. I think electric trucks will come into their own when we have more like the coming REV and Silverado EV with 500+ miles of regular range so you get 250 towing
I think most people have figured out that EVs may be fine for scooting around town or for trucks and vans that drive a set route and can be charged at night while you’re sleeping, but not if you have to rely on charging elsewhere. Gas trucks will also lose a lot of range while towing, but filling up takes less than ten minutes. Another point seldom raised, but when my nephew was in a minor fender bender in his Tesla I was surprised just how long (months) it took to schedule a repair at an authorized shop.
I think Tesla is a special case due to their authorized repair network and parts distribution. I don't think you'd have the same issue with legacy manufacturers
Too expensive, terrible performance in cold weather, not enough charging stations in rural areas.
You hit the nail on the head.
The only place there are enough charging stations is in densely populated areas where you can/should just take public transit most of the time anyway.
@@SliderFury1 densely populated areas 👎, public transportation 👎
@@SliderFury1”should”. Can drive if we want to
You're not wrong but anyone who actually owns an EV and drives it everyday doesn't use rapid chargers typically. I charge at work and at home. When I drive 100 miles down south to my friends, I sometimes hit a rapid charger but my car only goes 125 miles. These are not road trip or hauling vehicles until battery tech gets cheaper/ safer.
I live in maine and we have 2. Lariat trucks where I work. 230 mile range summer 140 winter . No one wants that shit.
Trucks are expensive in general. The initial price point of the lightning was very intriguing but now all of them are 65k plus. For that money you can get much more capable gas variants
The problem isn't that range is cut in half when towing. After all, gas trucks lose half their range when towing, too. The problem is a) we don't have a charging station around every corner, like we do with gas stations, and b) it takes 45 minutes to charge the battery, where a gas tank can be filled in five minutes. Fix both of those, and electric vehicles will be amazing. Pretty much what was said.... good work, truck king! And in a world where Eisenhower can build the interstate system, I believe with the right motivation, we can do the same for electric infrastructure.
That's true. There has to either be a revolution in battery tech, like the capacity is greatly increased, or recharge time can nearly rival refuel time at a gas station, or, and this is like sci-fi level of tech, but some kind system where batteries can be changed out. This system could be like changing out the batteries in your flashlight. Maybe the battery is like some kind of cannister or something and when the battery is depleted, you switch it out for a freshly charged battery and keep going. This method might be counterintuitive for e-waste, but something has to happen. Probably at least for now, as you're saying, recharge time needs to be shortened to the same time that it takes to refuel for gas/diesel.
This is probably where smartphone tech can be used for inspiration. Because the Chinese phone manufacturers like Hauwei and Xiaomi are pushing recharging tech to crazy levels. Their phones nowadays reached levels where the phone can be charged to 100% in 15 minutes. It used to take smartphones like 2 hours to fully charge their batteries. But the tech has increased to that level now. It can be debated on the reliability of those phones and all that, but the point is the tech exists now. It seems like that kind of innovation can be applied to EV's. The recharge time has to shortened to like 5 minutes. That's one of the only ways the EV's will be competitive and can also be seriously viable options for modes of transportation. Everything else can then fall into place, like price, range capacity, maintenance costs, and battery replacement costs, etc.
My buddy bought the electric lightning F-150, paid $96k, it does not charge well in the winter, he got stuck in the side of the road driving up from south Jersey , no way, is this a good purchase , he’s selling it at a substantial loss, just to unload it.
I don't think they're dead. For the right circumstances they are an excellent tool. Like everything else they're too damn expensive. All the dealers in my neighborhood lots are full, 2 of my local dealers are calling my almost weekly trying to convince me to trade in my 2015 Ram. To replace my truck would be the best part of 70K and that's silly.
The manufactures aren't interested in a cheaper truck, but as sales stall maybe that will change. Also the charging infrastructure need to be improved.
I find it interesting that the media is reporting of the death of the electric vehicle, but overall sales of cars in trucks aren't often mentioned.
I knew a few people who had these on order, but when they went to sign the dealer added $10-20k in mark ups, the dealers destroyed the sales on this truck.
An EV truck like the Lightning makes very good sense if you're a fleet buyer. A company that needs trucks to delivery parts from a warehouse to their stores in the area. Many government agencies for a city or state where the vehicle is staying withing a certain geographic area and at the end of the work shift is going back to a agency motorpool garage. If Ford has simply said this is a new version of a work truck for commercial and government sales, that by itself would have been a huge game changer.
But they introduced it for the consumer market, and consumers are going to want to use a Lightning like any other F-150. The tow rating is fine, but the loss of towing range was far worse than the loss of range you could get from a gas engine. The lack of recharging infrastructure is also an issue. Sure if you have a garage you can install your own Level 2 charger, but if you life an apartment or a condo that's not possible. Recharging stations are going to become more common, but for now it is a chicken vs egg problem. Also the inexpensive version never materialized. Some people might be willing to live with the downsides, but if you can't afford the truck you're not buying it!
I'm not in the market for a full size truck. They're too big and too expensive for my needs and wants. If I were in the near future and could afford it the Ramcharger would be looked at quite heavily. An electric vehicle with a gas powered generator to recharge itself. Given the limits of present technology it looks like a best of both worlds solution. An EV as a sedan, hatchback, or station wagon makes good sense to me, but if you're wanting to use a truck as a truck the technology just isn't quite ready yet. Props for Ford for bringing out the Lightning, but in my opinion they were too ambitious with it.
I have lightening xlt standard range and it’s the greatest truck ever had. I am commuting to work and this works great! I am towing a boat to the lakes 80 miles round trip, works great. Using it as a backup power! I am extremely happy. If you drive less than 200 miles per day and you live in a house it’s no brainer. If you taw across the country and live in apartment stay away from it, if you are contractor probably the best tool!
It’s not that we are appose to electric. We are opposed to significant reduction in range, ease of refueling and when the batteries weaken, and they will, we don’t want to spend more than $10,000 on replacement.
Three years ago my wife got a BMW XDrive plug In hybrid. It started out with 21-mile range. Currently the max range is 15 miles (shown on the dashboard at 100% charge but in reality about 10 miles.) So 21 to 15 miles displayed on dashboard in 3 years.
@@is6566 wow. How disappointing. But then I’ve never had a battery operated phone, laptop computer, iPad or car battery last more than a few years without significant degradation.
10,000 wouldn't be that bad for a replacement battery if that was the cost, try $40,000 for the smaller for the smaller ford lightning battery replacement
Truck comes with a 8 year 100k mi battery warranty, and it's very likely nearly all of these truck batteries will be at 85-90% capacity at 100k mi, and will be at 80-85% capacity at 200k mi. Ford also has a super conservative charging curve which will increase longevity. Also, the battery is modular, so if there is a faulty battery cell, you don't have to replace the entire battery but this is rare.
Rivian R1T owner since 2022. I’ve got 26,000 miles at last check and I couldn’t be happier. I’ve charged at a public charger 1 time during ownership and because of that, the experience has been fantastic. It has a range of 330 miles on a full charge and we don’t road-trip it. I spend on average of $75-100 on electricity per month. My previous vehicle was a 4 cylinder Mazda 6 which got 32mpg and I was spending $250-300 monthly on gas. I do light around-town towing, but have not road tripped or towed long distances. It’s all about your use case. I think if more “truck people” were honest with themselves, electric trucks would fit their lifestyle just fine. Having the Tesla supercharger network online for Ford and soon to be online for Rivian also makes a huge difference IMO. Ultimately it’s personal choice. Has just been a positive conversion for me.
Thanks for your balanced and realistic video. All the pluses and minuses. And no politics.
Much appreciated!
Tax on gasoline goes to road maintenance and repair. Here in the USA, in some states, they're looking into higher taxes on charging stations to make up the difference. Plus people are finding out tires aren't lasting as long on EV's due to the weight
In Alberta, Canada the government is looking at an additional tax to people with EV’s to pay for road improvements.
While some of the fuel taxes do go to road maintenance, it's been a very long time since that has 100% covered it and the funds come from other sources. Many states have added a fixed EV fee on EV annual license registration to make up the lack of state gasoline tax income on an EV, but the problem is some had made that annual amount MORE than what one would pay in fuel taxes in a year. So some EV owners are paying MORE than their fair share. Varies from state to state of course. All that being said, the amount of funds from fuel tax or annual EV registration renewal is a small portion of the road repair budget, so either way, it's more a talking point than an actual impact.
Question, what kind of range would a gas truck get towing?
Totally depends on the truck. Is it gas or diesel (gas is bigger drop)?
If it’s gas is it an NA or turbo (turbo is bigger drop in mpg)?
How heavy is it towing? How big of a sail is the front of towed vehicle.
In general you will see substantial drop when towing but compared to an EV it starts out with much bigger non-towing range so even if it has half the range towing it’s still pretty good range.
In my HD diesel I will have 700+ miles of non towing flat highway range. Towing anything heavy on flat highway it will be half the range but that’s still 300+ miles and filling up takes 5 minutes.
Too many variables to answer. Regardless, even if I go from 600 miles to 100 miles, at least it only takes 5 minutes to refuel, and there are refueling stations at every highway exist. You just don't worry about it.
Ability to bring additional fuel in jugs or add auxiliary fuel cell for long hauls. No EV equivalent.
Hay guy, the one thing you're not covering correctly is one major problem... When they first showed the lighting, the price that was advertised was 50,000 and less, so people put their order in. I was one of the... But once they called me and said your truck was here, the price was $80,000 plus 10,000 mark up.... I wasn't going to pay that king of money... it was out of my price point... it was that simple.. I will be getting one over the next 2 years because I can get one 1 to 2 years old for 30,000 or 40,000 used with low miles.. Most shows are missing that point 👉 and so the mark believes there are problems with the quality, but that is not the case... Just one man's opinion
Yes. The governments around the world including USA are definitely forcing the adoption of EVs through ever stricter emission and fuel efficiency mandates. If you don’t see that then you’re blind.
They are forcing the manufacturers to come out with compliance EVs in order to avoid expensive penalties. In the USA it’s the CAFE standards and emission regulations. Some car channels correctly call these early EVs “compliance vehicles” for that exact reason.
I posted a comment agreeing with you, but I also said something else that got my comment blocked.
It happens to me often. Mostly on TK comment sections. They either do it on their own manually or they set up the RUclips dash to be really aggressive in deleting comments. Not a problem on some other channels. (I can’t even name a particular other big channel because the last time that triggered the delete. 😃 It rhymes with the opposite of The Slow Lane. I named them and got the comment gone. 😃)
@@is6566 For me, it's not just TK, I consistently see comments deleted but only when I express certain opinions on.... Well, I can't say because this comment will likely get deleted.
I can almost say anything I want, but when I hit a nerve that touches on certain nations, certain corporations or certain political perspectives, my comments are blocked from the new comment sorting or they just vanish entirely. My last comment just vanished entirely.
The other thing I noticed on every channel, if you say something critical about the channel itself then the comment along with most/all of the negative comments about the video and the channel are sorted to the bottom of the comment section. 😃 That guarantees that the comment will be seen less.
I've seen things said against certain groups and individuals, things that supposedly violate the community guidelines, and not seen those comments blocked. Me, I say one thing that has particular leaning, and the comment gets blocked immediately!
A counterpoint on cottage life. We drive our Lightning from Western NY (leaving the house at 100%) to our cottage in Haliburton, ON non-stop (260 miles).
Then we charge at 240V/32A at the cottage and drive home to the States. We never have to DC charge on this trip.
The Lightning gets to Florida with approx 6 stops of 25-35 mins at Electrify America or other Fast Chargers.
I've driven my 2022 Lightning 46,000 miles without any charging 'close calls' and yes, the use case is easier when you have Level 2 charging at your residences.
I think trucks are so popular because of their versatility the ones the Lightning competes with are basically luxury vehicles that will comfortably fit a family with all their gear and tow a trailer. Is a truck the best vehicle for most truck owners day to day driving probably not but it can do anything. It really doesn't matter if a Lightning is better for most of my driving if it can't do the 10%-20% that involves towing a trailer and long highway trips.
Excellent episode and very insightful as always!!! 😁
As of this video date Autotrader Canada has 94 pages of F150 Lightnings for sale. Low $62k (2022) to well over a $100k for the current gen. I want one, but I can wait them out. $50k for a Lariat is my jumping in point. But I'll never give up my ICE vehicle.
What’s the point in having it? Pay 50k to save money on fuel?
@@skoolynugenator1802What is the point of having any nice vehicle vs. driving a cheap, 20 year old vehicle? Anything more than an old rusted out pickup or a tiny 20 year old econo car is all about want and not need. People choose to drive what they want based mostly on want. If someone wants a luxury vehicle or an ICE vehicle with all the bells and whistles, or an EV over an ICE, its all about having choices and driving whatever floats your boat.
I don’t see any ev’s where I live and there isn’t a charge station anywhere near me either. I do have a giant fuel tank though and can refill whenever I need. And you can literally get a gasoline truck that’ll smoke that for less money
Ranges of gas trucks get cut in half too when towing big trailers. That’s not the problem. The problem is refilling them while on that towing trip. You’re usually in the middle of nowhere and even if you found a charger, it takes forever and you half to unhook the trailer. But people need to quit acting all upset over half the range. That happens with ICE too. I get 8 to 9 mpg towing my trailer, when I usually get 18 without it.
With governments mandating electric vehicles in the near future, we may see an even higher competitive used car and truck market. People resisting the technology will desire internal combustion vehicles forcing slow sales of new EV's. Manufacturers may have to go to plan B and governments may need to release some of their expectations for the industry and the environment.
Yes. They are. They were an answer to a question that no one asked. And this is a prime example of when Government tries to dictate what’s suppose to be a free market.
Just look at like this. You’re going to buy a truck. Truck A cost as much as $20,000 more, has about 100 miles less fuel range empty, towing it has maybe 1/4 to 1/3 less fuel range, and it takes atleast 9 times longer to refuel on the road and also requires special fueling stations that are nowhere near as readily available and requires you to install a “fueling station” at your house.
Truck B is significantly cheaper for the same options, has more fuel range empty, and a lot more towing, can be refueled in a matter of minutes at any number of fueling stations and if you choose, you can store fuel at home without any real modifications.
Who would ever pick Truck A based off the facts?
Hey buddy. There is this new thing called the Horseless Carriage. It can only ride two people and can't tow a wagon. It can only go on smooth roads. It is very hard to operate. There are a bunch of levers and knobs. It can't be feed grass which is free and nearly everywhere. Instead this highly flammable liquid needs purchased at a general store. Not every general store carries this liquid. It comes in a can which needs opened with a can opener. It takes 3mins to put the liquid in the Horesless Carriage. On top of that it only travels 20 miles and then stops because it needs more of that liquid.
The industrialist are pushing these on us so that we become slaves, reliant on this flammable devil juice.
I'm sticking with my horse instead of these soulless mechanical contraptions.
@@beans4gas lol. Ok. Not even remotely the same. EVs are not a drastic departure of the type of transportation technology we currently use. They’re still cars or trucks.
But keep telling yourself they are better for the environment lol.
Dude do you think gasoline is an unlimited substance😒……..so yes we did ask for a solution! (Dumb comment🤦🏽♂️)
Biggest "competitor" to the F-150 Lightning... is the regular F-150.
asinine take evs aren't a huge leap forward in capability @@beans4gas
Good news- Ford just announced partnership with Tesla charging network.
That should address the problem with charging network availability.
Doesn’t address the range problem until a very different battery design and chemistry delivers double the range with reduced weight.
Can you say solid state batteries?
A significant issue is that we're being pressured to adjust our lifestyle to accommodate the purported imminent shift to electric vehicles, which we're being pushed to adopt. However, none of these changes offer any convenience. Almost everything about owning an EV is more inconvenient except for the cost to charge, which is generally cheaper than gasoline or diesel. I'm also concerned about what will happen to electricity prices once everyone is compelled to switch to EVs. Since there's only one power company serving the area where I live, they will likely be able to increase prices as they please, knowing that people will have no choice but to pay.
Power will rise in cost as demand increases
Watch out. Too much truth will result in your comments being deleted.
@@AkioWasRight I hate censorship
Having owned an EV for two years, I gotta say starting every single day with a "full tank" is pretty darned convenient. I'm sure I spend less time a year waiting for my car to charge up (since it does most of it's charging while I'm asleep at night) than I did standing at a fuel pump filling my old gas car.
That being said... if you can't charge at home or work, I wouldn't recommend getting one.
@@ShippyJack the big kicker is the cost of a new battery when time comes for replacement
I have similar thoughts. In my future two vehicle household, it would have a small EV like the Bolt for local commutes with charging at home and a Tahoe 3.0 diesel for towing and long travel. I plan to get the Tahoe in the next two years.
Plug-in hybrids from the ground up where battery trays are sandwiched between frame rails and act as stressed-member is the future of trucks. They provide good torque, fuel efficiency and driving range.
Close to where I live is a company that specializes in retrofitting pickups and vans for utility work and corporate graphics. Just drove by yesterday and they have a fleet of pickups for Hydro One....they are all ICE.
You hit the nail on the head. Electric trucks sound great on paper. And would be fine if you never tow anything. It just kills the range. But you also typically loose about half your range in gas trucks, just way easier to fill a gas tank then a 100kw+ battery. 5 minutes versus 45 minutes if you find a charger that works.
Thanks for this video! It was very well balanced. I own a Rivian and love it. I think they have a place, but they are far from filling every scenario where pickups are used, but they do work for many.
Per a Ford employee source involved in the F150 Lighting program admitted to me in October 2022 that the “F150 Lighting is nothing more than a novelty in the brand as Ford is loosing between $30,000 to $70,000 on each one sold, sales will significantly decline and overall owners are very disappointed in towing range, ground clearance, (etc) and is in jeopardy of actually hurting the legendary F150 brand.”
They were being forced onto the consumer, and most consumers don't want an electric vehicle.
Forced?
lol forced.
Majority of vehicles available are petroleum based.
Forced? No they weren't.
Demand for EV's is a fraction of what gasoline vehicles are. The people who wanted an F150 lightning got one, and demand is falling now that the people who wanted a normal looking electric truck already got theirs.
Yeah forced, ppl being told gasoline would be banned scares ppl into maybe doing something they wouldn’t otherwise. Sorta like that other thing that they tried to force on People. And just like the lightning, turned out to be a bit of a flop
The laws banning ICE vehicles by 2035 are still on the books in multiple states no what what the EV crowd comes in here and says about how no one is or will be forced to buy them.
They shoulda gone with a plug-in hybrid instead of a pure EV. There's almost nowhere to recharge where I live, and a home charger isn't realistic for me. Also, I don't have a garage, so the cold weather would be a problem. You shouldn't try to jump straight from 8-track tapes to cloud streaming. You have to TRANSITION into high tech.
The instant torque, low noise and low maintenance are big benefits to EVs. But there’s a reason why even trains use a Diesel Generator. When you need to go the distance, nothing beats liquid fuel. For now at least.
Another great video! I think you hit the nail on the head, it needs to be a blend of both battery and fuel. I love the Power Boost F150. I like the idea that the engine charges the battery. I think Ford needs to make the battery pack larger on that power train.
I like Edison Motors idea of range extender hybrids. You can plug in or drive to charge. Diesel Electric.
Heaviest vehicle ever lol
Just picked up a lightning. It’s my fifth truck, my first Ford, and the best pickup I’ve ever owned. Got a great deal since Ford made too many last year. But don’t buy one if you pull big trailers long distances, or if you cannot charge it at home. Compared to my gas trucks, it has way more power and torque, less maintenance, and its electric fuel is four times cheaper around town. Hard to beat that.
Just got a lightning 2 weeks ago. Best driving truck I've ever had. Super fun comfortable and economical. Has a lot of pros and some cons. If the cons don't work for you id look at gas or diesel.
My local dealer is offering around $20,000 off of MSRP. I would love one since I don't do any long distance towing, or even traveling. It would work great for me since I would use one locally and charge at home. I wouldn't want one as an only vehicle, but it works great for a second vehicle.
I think that if we had been driving EVs all along and then gas engine vehicles were developed we would me in awe in that we didn’t have to plug them in all the time and maybe gas up once a week, people would just love the convenience. I think I would love an EV, the quiet, the acceleration, there are chargers in the parking lot where I work. But the battery has to be replaced at some point at a huge cost.
Ev's are not for people if they cant charge at home. I remember hurricane Harvey and how the gas stations had people waiting for hours to try to fill up and if you got to the pump if any gas was left it was premium. I have never been without electricity for more than two days and my lightning can power my house for 3 days.I also have a gas vehicle that i filled up 6 months ago that i can use in an emergency but it just sits in my garage collecting dust
I have a 22 lightning in Florida, love it, tow 5 to 6 times a year, just local. Best part is charging at home! Take 3 to 4 trips a year, had to learn about charging. But I am getting a free adapter to so can use the Tesla superchargers that are version 3 or 4. My normal trip is about 500 miles, I have to stop twice to charge, but I choose to stop 3 times, so only have to charge 20 to 25 minutes while I get food and bathrooms breaks. B4 Tesla opening up to Ford, I had 4 chargers along my trip, now I will have 12 that are compatible with my Lightning. Maybe not for every one, but it meets my needs.
Charging and Range when and when not towing. This why I believe that the new RamCharger will be the future for consumer trucks.
Yeah I think range extending vehicles are a great solution for now. Not sure why we never heard of Fords version as I think they patented a bed cabinet for an ICE as opposed to Ram putting it up front.
I like the concept of the Ramcharger. I'd be too afraid to buy one though...
It wont work either
You did a great job on this video Bubba.
I had a spot reserved to order one. I was really excited. They never called my number, as I watched the prices continue to soar into the stratosphere. I finally decided that they were out of their minds and I withdrew my reservation. I'm not spending 70k-90k on a truck...electric or not, EVER. Especially when they were promising entry level prices at 39k. Add in the fact that the range numbers never met the expectations...the Lightening just sort of became a pipe dream. I still like the concept, but not at that price point.
You covered it pretty thoroughly, and describing it as a shift in planning and lifestyle is pretty accurate. Unfortunately this would not be as much of a consideration if the infrastructure was available to charge while travelling. I’m also not convinced that there will be a significant improvement in the cost of ownership vs gasoline. Those factors are too much for the price of admission. Nice truck though.
Thank you to Hoovie's Garage for exposing how abysmal it is to tow with EV pickups. A good dose of reality and candid observations from an owner vs YT channel hyping a loaner speaks louder.
Great video! I appreciate that (as always) you are staying neutral and objective so that also the positive aspects of electric trucks are mentioned. But I'm fully with you that especially the use case of a 'working truck' is not (or not yet) compatible with EVs... Thanks a lot & many greetings from Germany 🇩🇪 🇨🇦 !
They pissed off all their reservations with the price increases. If they had locked in the prices in at the time of deposit.. then maybe they wouldn’t have scared off the only people who wanted one
It sure does drive nice! I have a V8 truck for long distance truck things but this would’ve been a nice daily driver
It’s the best test case for government interference in a capital marketplace. I think people also started understanding that electricity fueled vehicles are burning a ton of coal, while using child labor to build.
Quality fast-charging is the one thing holding people back. The follow-up to this truck will have NACS and faster peak-charging so it will be a much better vehicle. We might see the follow-up at the Detroit show in September. The Lightning was the proof of concept.
My 23 Lariat Lightning ER is : 1 cheaper than the gas version (after federal tax credit and dealer discounts) 59,650. 2 it has way more options than gas version. 3 it’s WAY faster and fun to drive. 4 its more quiet and a smoother drive. I don’t tow often enough or far enough where the range affects me. It can be charged at home on a level 2 charger 80 amps from 15% battery to full in 13 hours. People that have never driven an EV should not have negative opinions against them. Go drive one and fall in love!!!!!!
I bought one and im happy with it.
What sucks is that if Ford fixes the reason why these didnt sell that much - the price and the range - i am going to be way under on a truck ill have a heck of a time trying to resale, even at a substantial loss.
1: by release the truck was almost double its original estimated MSRP.
2: Its small range absolutely tanks if you load them down, encounter hills, or try to tow with them.
3: lack of suitable charging infrastructure and increasing cost of electricity at supercharger locations such as Electrify America.
4: EV used values fall on their face compared to their gas counterparts. alot of people see that and avoid.
What happened to the range extender that Ford patented? This would make it somewhat similar to the upcoming Ramchager. Add that and you may have more buyers because you can extend the range if you are towing or hauling.
Could also have an auxiliary battery for towing. I am a little surprised that there are no aftermarket solutions to address the range issues. The power numbers of the truck and the versatility of the Propower Onboard are appealing but the range is not.
9:00: The maritimes, where I live, is a disaster for fast charger infrastructure for road tripping. Plugging in at home with a 220V ideal for your daily routine though.
Affordability!
They said starting at around 40k, now they are around 50k plus.
At least 20% more expensive than what they said
Id love to have one underground in the mines. The current go-to vehicle underground is a Toyota Land cruiser with a NA I6 diesel
At launch, the Pro level trim seemed a home run for pricing. Never available to the public in Canada and then no availability for other trims and price increase after price increase just killed my interest. Now they're baffled by the lack of sales? Even knowing that it's not a viable tow vehicle for long distances, I'd love an affordable electric truck.
Another thing to consider is the electric grid infrastructure. As long as you are charging at home ( which means you have a house with a dedicated parking spot) the electrical service already has a 200 amp infrastructure to your home, and you typically charge overnight, so not over taxing the grid. Will that still be the case if EVs are charging in every garage or driveway? In California the rolling "brownout" version of conserving energy doesn't bode well for ev charging. It probably won't be much of a problem in places like Quebec, with massive state-run hydro electric utilities, cheao electricity prices and sufficient capacity to export a LOT of electricity, but anywhere with a fragile, antiquated or combustion powered electrical grid may not be a good fit for extra large EVs like the the Ford Lightning. Even hydro is not much of a guarantee... If your water supply dries up (low water levels at Hoover dam for example). PS i would love to see you guys make contact with Edison Motors out of BC, making diesel-electric ev+generator heavy trucks and pick-up conversions. Deboss garage on yt is assembling one of their prototype pickup conversions. That would make for some great videos!
When this came out it was slated to be 40k for the pro. Then they said pro wasnt available with extended range. Then they jacked the msrp up. Then dealers jacked up with marked adjustments. Then the range estimates for truck type uses showed to be less than what was initially thought. If they had kept the 40k deal and not alienated 99 percent of buyers with greed it would have been more successful.
I really like the powerboost concept and truly think ford needs to develop that platform. With all the space in a truck, why not have a 30-50kw battery and make it a PHEV while keeping the ICE for more truck work. Give it a usable 100km ev range for around town.
I bet you don't worry about maintenance other than checking fluids and changing cabin air filter
The drop in sales speaks volumes. Governments mandating EVs years before battery/grid technology is ready on a wide scale has consequences.
Rams got the best idea, 3.6L as a generator! That’s how I see the truck market going. Unless they can produce a truck that gets 1000mile range and 500 while towing, adoption will be tough
People canceled reservations when they couldn’t build them. Mine was sitting in a lot for 3 weeks waiting on a Ford logo badge for the front. Then they canceled when Ford tried to bump up the base prices 10 grand. That was a huge fk up. The towing sucks, yeah, but let’s all be honest about how often we really tow. Most pickup drivers tow maybe once or twice a year. This is a fact that is not up for debate. You can rent a gasser for the one time a year you tow a camper or a boat for your vacation and enjoy saving 6-10 a year in gas.
For Ford, the Lightning is a 1st generation EV. The next generation coming in 2026 or so will be much different. And the Lightning will be for Ford Pro only.
I think that a truck like the Ram Ramcharger will appeal to more people as it marries the best of both worlds into a single vehicle.
Electric pickup trucks make no sense because of what the intended purpose of a pickup truck is, which is towing. Small electric cars on the other hand, make perfect sense. My grandparents are in their 80s and just sold their 2001 Grand Marquis and bought a Kia Niro EV, because it actually made sense. They don’t drive any more than 30 miles per day, any driving they do is around town, and their days of taking long road trips are over. An EV made perfect sense for them. For pickup truck purchasers, on the other hand, it makes no sense.
Main purpose of a pickup is hauling duh. Thus the box. Any modern suv etc can tow
Ford upped the price big time after getting 200k reservations and gave early applicants no price protection. At least the bronco had some price protection offered.
If you live in a cold climate get use to not using the heater if you want to make it more than 30 miles
Stop fear mongering, that is nonsense.
Unpopular opinion, but pricing up a Maverick vs a Pro Lightning Standard Range is quite eye opening when factoring interest rates and government incentives. Go build one of each, multiply the payment by number of payments, and you’ll see certain scenarios the Maverick actually costs more.
I bought my F-150 4x4 to go off road and over landing. Not to go down a wet trail. My truck weighs 4500 pounds, compared to a EV that’s 6500 pounds. I have a 36 gallon tank and can usually go 700 miles or more before needing gas. Your EV could never do that. If it ever could, where would you find a charging station out in the boonies!
Guy in my church bought one of these last year and bragged how great it is. Just sent him this video and two minutes ago said, "Yeah, I got buyers remorse. Been thinking of selling it for months".
Sounds like you’re wanting to get your hands on the RamCharger.
Simply put, until the range, charging speeds, and the charging infrastructure are not a compromise when compared to ICE vehicles, fully electric trucks will only ever be a niche. That said, if the whole solid state battery thing happens, and the prices don't explode, that could be a near future. Time will tell.
Everyone could see this coming. It’s truly common sense and I’m surprised Ford is so far out of touch with reality to not see it was not the time maybe for only a hybrid truck and electric small suv or small car.
I got it because of the room and 7.2k of output power.
I put in my reservation on the third day and couldn’t get a first year model because I wanted the pro then they went way up in price from $40,000 all the way up to $57,000, so I told Ford to take the reservation and shove it
I think we should focus on plug in hybrids... Best of both worlds.
I tow a bass boat. I’ll never purchase an EV. Unless you’re on the pwr grid forget it. Apartment dwellers … no way. Torque might be instantaneous but you better not be counting range in hours … more like minutes. If they were such a success, everyone would want them. Forget it. Common sense does not equate to ANY government run business. EV’s is DOA.
For the reasons other commenters have mentioned plus a changing economic outlook car sales in general and EVs in particular are slowing. Arguably correcting back to “normal”. My guess is that EVs will find their place and be useful and cost effective in places. So my view is it’s too soon to say EVs are DOA. It is still early days on essentially first gen products. They will improve. The problems will be addressed and EVs will have their place alongside ICE / Diesel and likely others. I really like the Lightening and look forward to giving one a go soon.
300 mile range with a trailer, 15 minute full charge and don’t rip off the consumer, they’d be selling. But that’s not where we’re at just yet.
I think they got ahead of themselves with electric pickup trucks. Hybrid pickup trucks would make more sense. People love the Maverick hybrid. Excellent fuel mileage, no range anxiety, and a lot cheaper to produce.
Ford was swamped with reservations at price points they would not deliver on. Yes, the few that got in early got their 40k Pro model but they made very few pro models. Also, they would not sell pro extended to consumers, only fleet. So when they changed the price or you realized XLT extended was over priced. I still like the Lightning and ford did a good job with the truck. Any new truck/product has hiccups with any new design.
How easy is it to pull up to a charger with a trailer in tow? Where I live apartments are going up at an unbelivable pace and the current generation doesn't seem interested in owning a home. What I don't see at these apartments is charging stations for vehicles.
Thé use case for electric trucks is nothing like the use case for ice trucks. Having said that, as a long time truck owner I always smile at people who buy a truck but don’t really need one. A portion of that segment could make do with an electric truck because it’s not very useful as a truck.
Belle licence du Québec !
2:40 I actually think that larger vehicles are able to achieve longer range, because of surface-to-volume scaling. Friction occurs at surfaces like rotating shafts or wind resistance, and battery packs energy capacity grows at a cubic rate while surfaces grow at a square rate. However EVs carry so little energy and depend so highly on efficiency that a trailer or bed full that adds weight and or wind resistance without a concomitant increase in battery volume and you’ve killed your EV range!
Just imagine if we had all started with electric vehicles, poor range, poor towing, poor cold weather performance and battery life and someone thought of and designed a gas powered vehicle that cured all the electric headaches? Wow what a thought, why on earth would we go backwards in terms of everything a gas powered vehicle offers? So we can change where the pollution comes from? This has to be the biggest scam the world has ever seen
Canada 🇨🇦 is so cold 🥶 and this truck might have only 100 miles range there.🙂
I believe that i inflation, high prices, and high interest have slowed down ALL vehicle's demands,especiallyy EVs, because of their higher price.
Also, at the initial 39K price, the Lighthing was an amazing deal, but at 50k, it doesn't.
I love TK, they always do a great job on testing and sharing their options on trucks, but with that said I hate the idea of EV vehicles especially a truck. And the people that have bought these all battery vehicles will see down the road. Just like a battery operated tool or a new phone they're nice when new & the batteries hold charge but as time goes by the batteries gets weaker and weaker until there you are replacing the batteries or replacing the whole unit. I personally don't have the time to sit at a quick charge for 30,45 minutes,possibly even longer. Plus I didn't buy a truck just as a commuting vehicle, my truck works. But that's just me.
EVs currently depreciating quickly. So manufacturers are trying to cut the over-supply! I also think most people are realising that it's not as simple as combustion = bad for environment and electric = good. Cleaned up combustion, perhaps with a small battery/motor for urban use and the need for large and expensive battery EVs seems over-stated.
Insurance companies are what are pricing EVs out of the market. The rates keep going up astronomically and most insurers are realizing they don't want anything to do with these vehicles because they are so expensive to repair and even a minor accident turns it into a write-off. So they've jacked the rates like crazy with no end in sight. Before you buy, check on the cost of insurance.