Ford’s top executives unveiled the electric version of the best-selling vehicle in automotive history, the F-150 pickup truck, on Wednesday night, saying it will be a “game-changer” model for the company and a fundamental for the United States.
Ford announced that the base version of the F-150 Lightning will be priced at $ 39,974, which may decrease thanks to tax incentives that state and federal authorities offer for the purchase of electric cars. The XLT model, with more technologies and equipment, will be priced at $ 52,974.
Ford CEO Bill Ford, great-grandson of the company’s founder, declared during the vehicle unveiling in Dearborn, outside Detroit, where the automaker is based, that the F-150 Lighining is a “day historic for the company and it is an important day for the future of the country. ”
The official unveiling of the F-150 Lightning comes a day after US President Joe Biden traveled to Dearborn to visit the Ford Rouge Electric Vehicle Center plant, where the truck will be produced, and had the opportunity to drive a unit. pre-production.
President Joe Biden visited a Ford automotive factory in Dearborn, Michigan, and was able to test drive the new all-electric F-150 pickup truck, named “Lightning.”
Biden, who has unveiled a $ 2.3 trillion infrastructure investment plan including $ 174 billion to support growth in domestic electric vehicle production as a key element of his strategy to fight climate change, declared that “the future of the automobile sector is electric “.
Ford has indicated that the F-150 Lightning is one of the pillars of the company’s plan to electrify its range of vehicles in the coming years, a program in which they will invest 22,000 million dollars. The Lightning joins the Mustang Mach-E SUV SUV and the ewitch station wagon as the company’s third electric.
In a statement, Bill Ford explained that the vehicle “is the labor backbone of the country and an icon that generations of customers trust. Now we are revolutionizing it for the new generation.”
For his part, Ford president and CEO Jim Farley said during the presentation that the Lightning is “a revolutionary truck” that represents “all that the country can do when promoting progress.”
Ford explained that all Lightning models will feature four-wheel drive. The power of the vehicle is 563 horsepower and the torque 1,050 Nm, which allows acceleration from 0 to 62 miles per hour in 4.5 seconds when equipped with the most powerful battery.
The standard battery provides a range of 230 miles while the extended-range version extends the figure to 298 miles.
The more equipped versions of the Lightning will be equipped with a Pro Power Onboard system of 9.6 kilowatts of power that allows the vehicle’s battery to be used to power tools, appliances and even power a home in the event of a blackout.
Ford said the electric truck can power a home for up to three days. The vehicle has 21 charging points including 9 plugs.
Another novelty of the Lightning is what Ford calls “frunk”, which is a trunk at the front of the vehicle, which would normally be fully occupied by the combustion engine compartment, which is accessed through the hood.
The F-150 Lightning also has an automatic steering system that allows the vehicle to circulate without the driver touching the steering wheel on more than 100,000 kilometers of highways in the United States and Canada.