2022 Ford F-150 Lightning Strikes EV Market With Sub-$40k Starting Price

Ford has pulled the wraps off the new, all-electric F-150 Lightning today and opened reservations for its first fully electric pickup truck.

Let’s start with the pricing. The 2022 F-150 Lightning will kick off at a surprising $39,974 MSRP before any federal or state tax credits in its base, commercial-oriented trim level, rising all the way up to around $90,000 for one of the range-topping models.

The mid-series XLT models will start from $52,974 MSRP, again before any rebates. Ford vehicles still qualify for the $7,500 federal EV credit, which brings the starting price down to under $32,500. Prospective customers can reserve theirs at Ford’s website now with a $100 deposit.

The F-150 Lightning with the extended range battery pack is expected to offer a 0-60 mph sprint in the mid-4 seconds, packing an estimated combined output of 563 HP and 775 lb-ft of torque from its dual-motor setup. Models fitted with the standard range battery will offer a combined 426 HP and the same 775 lb-ft of torque, again from a dual-motor setup.

The new Lightning is also the first F-Series truck to feature an independent rear suspension, a change that significantly reduces unsprung mass and improves handling and comfort levels. Payload capability is rated at up to 2,000 lbs while towing capacity is rated at up to 10,000 lbs.

Two lithium-ion battery pack options will be available, with the entry-level unit targeting 230 miles of driving range and the extended range battery being EPA-estimated at 300 miles. Ford says that the latter is the biggest battery pack they’ve ever offered, without revealing either unit’s exact capacity.

Depending on which battery pack you go for, the electric F-150 will feature a different onboard AC charger. Trucks with the standard range battery will get an 11.3 kW single charger, while models with the extended range battery will get a dual charger with up to 19.2 kW, designed to offer the fastest possible charging times to the limits of the SAE charging standards.

The F-150 Lightning with the standard range battery pack will be offered with an optional 48A house charger, which will charge the battery from 15 to 100 percent in around 10 hours. Models fitted with the bigger extended range battery pack and the dual charger can plug into an 80A house charger and go from 15 to 100 percent in around 8 hours. Use a 150kW DC public fast charger and the F-150 Lightning requires 41 minutes to charge from 15 to 80 percent.

Ford has also worked on the Intelligent Range software that displays the remaining driving range taking into account things like payload and towing for a more accurate prediction. Using the truck’s sensors, the system can estimate how much the F-150 Lightning is hauling and adjust its prediction accordingly.

In addition, the F-150 Lightning is compatible with the new Intelligent Backup Power system, making it possible to use the energy stored in its battery for powering your home during an outage.

The system has the ability to off-board up to 9.6 kW of energy (up from the F-150 Hybrid’s 7.2 kW), which makes an F-150 Lightning with the extended range battery pack capable of powering a home for up to three days on a full charge. The Intelligent Backup Power system is enabled by Ford’s 80A house charger. The electric truck also features up to 11 outlets in the bed, cabin, and frunk, to power everything, from TVs and speakers to electric dirt bikes, circular saws, and jackhammers.

The battery packs were designed specifically for use in the F-150 Lightning, featuring beefed-up cooling systems and multiple components. Ford wanted to make sure that the F-150 Lightning’s battery will be able to cope in tough driving conditions, including towing heavy trailers and off-roading. The automaker adds that the battery packs are designed for the whole life of the vehicle.

The design differences of the new Lightning over a standard F-150 with an ICE powertrain are small but make a big enough impression to quickly identify it. The front and rear ends will be dominated by new LED light bars in the higher Lariat and Platinum trim levels, spanning across the width of the truck. The front end will be available with three different “grille” designs, while the running boards and the bonnet are reshaped for less drag.

“Our customers told us they want something modern and advanced but didn’t want their truck to look like a doorstop or a spaceship”, said Jasen Turnbull, Ford F-150 Lightning Marketing Manager. “We made sure that the F-150 Lightning stayed true to the Ford truck DNA.”

Ford did a rather excellent job with the packaging of the new F-150 Lightning, allowing them to create the biggest ‘frunk’ in the market, offering 400 liters of volume and up to 400 lbs of payload. The power-operated “Mega-Power Frunk” offers dry storage space outside the cabin and features clever solutions like a removable floor mat, a false floor, various hooks, four electrical outlets and two USB ports, and even a drain plug for those who want to clean their muddy gear.

The new F-150 Lightning is also the first F-150 equipped with Ford’s latest SYNC4A infotainment system that operates via a huge 15.5-inch portrait-oriented touchscreen display and features natural voice control, cloud-connected navigation, wireless Apple CarPlay, and wireless Android Auto, as well as over-the-air software updates. The touchscreen display retains a physical knob, just like the one in the Mustang Mach-E.

Last but not least, the new F-150 Lightning will be optionally available with Ford’s BlueCruise hands-free L2 driver-assistance system, which can be enabled on more than 100,000 miles of pre-qualified divided highways in the U.S. and Canada.

The 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning will arrive in the market next spring, available in four trim levels, two battery options, and the choice for fleet customers to access the company’s complete ecosystem of connected data and telematics services.

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