The Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) F-150 Lightning, the automaker’s flagship electric truck, is facing a wave of cancelations as its price has climbed significantly from the originally advertised $40,000 mark.
Tim Bartz, a sales manager at Long McArthur Ford, told The Verge that 30% of his 135 reservations have been canceled due to price increases. These rising prices have deterred potential customers, who were initially attracted by the prospect of a relatively affordable electric truck.
The price increase has made the base model F-150 Lightning Pro now cost nearly $60,000 — a massive $20,000 surge from the initial price. Some who had originally hoped to secure the truck at a lower cost have been pushed into a price bracket they can’t afford, causing them to cancel their orders. The sticker shock has also led some customers to opt for cheaper EV alternatives, such as the Chevrolet Bolt EV.
Adding to the pricing woes, changes to the Inflation Reduction Act have capped tax incentives for vehicles under $80,000, making a large proportion of the F-150 lineup ineligible for the $7,500 tax credit. This, coupled with an almost sold-out 2023 Pro trim, means many potential buyers who didn’t place an order back in 2022 are likely to miss out on the cheaper electric truck.
Speaking to the Edmunds, Zhang says pre-launch research included a substantial number of non-truck buyers. The Ford team discovered that SUV owners love the mega front trunk, which fills the gap for protected cargo space that a pickup truck typically lacks.
“Truck owners love their trucks, and we wanted [the Lightning] to look like the F-150. There will be a transition; some folks may not be comfortable with it right now but getting behind the wheel and seeing how it improves your life in many ways can be convincing,” said Linda Zhang
Despite these setbacks, the demand for the F-150 Lightning remains strong, albeit skewed towards the higher-trimmed Lariat and Platinum models. Ford’s decision to boost production of the XLT and Pro trims is seen as a positive move, but as prices continue to rise, the electric truck market may increasingly cater to wealthier customers.
‘’ We’ve had pickup trucks before, but this is the first very clearly in a new generation that will all be different hence the ford It is the best-selling vehicle for the past 30 years in America in a row and that’s exactly why the F-150 lightning is a huge deal especially for Ford. It’s more like people who have older iPhones who are not really considering getting any other phone, other than a new iPhone don’t really know which new iPhone, but eventually they will upgrade to one of the new iPhones. In the same way, there are a lot of people just like that with their Ford trucks,” said Marques Brownlee
Produced in association with Benzinga
Edited by Eunice Anyango Oyule and Judy J. Rotich
