Ford Motor Co.
F -0.25%
plans to undercut several rival electric pickup manufacturers when the battery-powered F-150 hits stores next year.
The company announced the awards for its newest truck – the first all-electric version of its best-selling, most profitable vehicle – during a Event announced Wednesday night at headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan.
The company said the F-150 Lightning will have a starting price of $ 39,974 when it hits showrooms next year, well below some other electric vehicles to hit the market. That’s before tax credits are taken into account.
Production of the new electric pickup will begin next spring in Michigan, the company said.
Fords ???? s
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The strategy differs from that of most other companies entering the emerging electric vehicle segment. As several traditional automakers and startups prepare to launch adventure-themed sporty pickups at higher prices,
ford
wants to attract fleet buyers who generally prefer no-frills trucks that are cheaper to run.
« That’s a lot of trucks for this starting point, » said Darren Palmer,
Fords ???? s
General Manager of Battery Electric Vehicles, adding that it will accelerate faster than any F-150 Ford has made. “People are taking their first steps toward electrical engineering, and we want to tempt them.”
Base-model F-150 Lightning buyers could qualify for a $ 7,500 tax credit on the price would depress the low $ 30,000, much like a gasoline-powered truck. That price should attract buyers who may be reluctant to buy a plug-in truck, said Stephanie Brinley, an analyst at the research firm
IHS Markit.
« Pricing overlaps enough with an internal combustion F-150 to make it more palatable to a consumer, » she said.
The pickup truck category plays an important role as automakers around the world Racing development of electric vehicles driven by the tightening of environmental laws and regulations
Tesla Inc.
rapid rise.
While there aren’t any major automaker electric pickups on the market today, some are expected to hit stores in the next 18 months, including the F-150 Lightning and entries from Tesla.
General Motors Co.
and startup Rivian Automotive.
GM plans to release an electric off-road Hummer pickup under the GMC brand later this year, with a starting price of around $ 113,000. GM is also developing an electric version of its Chevrolet Silverado that will compete with the F-150. The company has not given details of pricing or a release date.
Rivian, a California-based startup supported by Ford, is expected to launch a $ 75,000 electric pickup truck next month, the Designed for buyers who like the outdoors.
Tesla’s futuristic-looking Cybertruck pickup costs around $ 39,900, which is roughly the same as the F-150 Lightning. A version of the Cybertruck with two electric motors and all-wheel drive similar to that of Ford’s truck costs around $ 49,900.
Several small startups are developing electric pickups. Based in Ohio
Lordstown Motors Corp.
has announced that it will begin production of a $ 52,000 commercial pickup later this year.
As Ford prepares to introduce the new electric pickup, the company is still facing a chip shortage that is occurring in This spring has resulted in fewer shifts and temporary downtimes at many of its U.S. factories.
On Wednesday, Ford announced that its Michigan and Missouri plants, which will be holding two-week gasoline versions of the F-150 for two weeks starting May 31 -Pickups are made, should be decommissioned. Ford is also planning further downtime at several other assembly plants, including the sports operations. Commercial vehicle factory in Chicago.
The high price of electric vehicles is a major obstacle for customers considering switching from gasoline engines. Tesla has expanded its appeal to mass market buyers over the years by launching cheaper models to boost sales of electric vehicles. The Tesla Model 3, for example, starts at around $ 39,500. Ford executives said they can offer the lower starting price in part because the electric F-150 shares many common parts with the gasoline version, helping it save development costs.
On Tuesday, President Biden visited Ford’s Dearborn truck plant where the new electric F-150 is being built. He used the facility to pitch his $ 2.3 trillion infrastructure plan, which includes funding for electric vehicles, and tested a vehicle that the White House said was the F-150 Lightning > Ford borrowed the Lightning name from its line of performance truck models from the 1990s that used large, gas-guzzling engines. Ford has said the new electric truck will go faster than these models, going from zero to 60 mph in about 4.5 seconds.
The electric F-150 is expected to have two options for the battery : a standard version with a range of 230 miles and an extended version with a range of 300 miles on a single charge.
Detroit’s automakers have an incentive to fend off newcomers to the truck yard. Ford, GM and
Stellantis
NV, although its Ram Truck brand, has long dominated the large pickup truck market. According to research firm Wards Intelligence, they accounted for 95% of full-size pickup sales in the U.S. in the first quarter.
Ford set the price of the truck in part through discussions with the delivery companies, contractors, and landscapers who made their Use trucks and vans for work, said
Kumar Galhotra,
Ford’s President for America and International Markets.
At the same time, Ford will offer the F-150 Lightning with a chic interior, a larger battery for longer range and other features that would raise the price to around $ 90,000.
Published in the print edition of May 20, 2021 as « Ford plans price war against electric pickups ».
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