Ford Motor Co. is officially planting its flag with the launch of an all-electric version of America's best-selling truck, aiming to overtake Tesla Inc. and lead the electric vehicle market.
Blue Oval brass said as much during the F-150 Lightning's formal launch Tuesday at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center, a new EV manufacturing facility at Ford's historic Rouge complex that already has been expanded to boost production capacity to 150,000 units annually. The event highlighted the symbolic resonance of the Rouge, the employees building the Lightning, customers (some of whom were invited) and the automaker's electric ambitions.
"We have very intention of being the No. 1 electric pickup maker," CEO Jim Farley said. "And then, with the huge investments — $50 billion in EVs, battery manufacturing, our expanded lineup which you have not seen yet — we plan to challenge Tesla and all comers to become the top EV maker in the world.
