- Production of the all-electric Ford F-150 has ended. But the next one will be an extended-range electric vehicle, or EREV.
- The high-powered generator will enable a range of more than 700 miles, with longer towing than the all-electric Lightning, Ford said.
- Ford says its new Universal Electric Vehicle platform, which starts with a $30,000 EV truck, will be the future of its battery-powered vehicle programs.
The Ford F-150 Lightning was a groundbreaking pickup truck. It took many of the qualities that owners loved about America’s best-selling vehicle and gave it zero-emission power, instant torque, and even the ability to power an entire house.
Unfortunately for the Lightning, it has also become Known for the qualities he didn’t have. Many customers are put off by the EV truck’s high price and limited range when towing and hauling. Sales were a drop in the bucket compared to the gas-powered and hybrid F-150, and when Ford sold it, He was confused.
So, today Ford revealed the revised plan for the next F-150 Lightning: adding a gas engine to the next one.
Ford officials said today that current Lightning production will be coming to an end, and that the next generation of full-size trucks is planned — known internally as Ford T3– It will be cancelled. Instead, the next lightning bolt will be… Extended Range Electric Vehicle, or EREVwith a gas engine that charges the battery. With this addition, Ford expects the upcoming Lightning to offer more than 700 miles of total range.
“We’ve learned a lot from the first generation of electric vehicles, and we know that for many truck owners, towing heavy loads over long distances is a non-negotiable,” Andrew Fricke, president of Ford’s gas and electric divisions, said on a call with reporters today. He called the EREV Lightning a “huge step forward” because it is essentially powered by an electric vehicle, but with a gas engine for “confidence in range” and towing performance over longer distances. It will also be able to power various electrical devices, just as current Lightning does.
“Typical customers will spend nine out of 10 days on electricity alone,” Frick said. “It will be able to tow with unparalleled range, which is important for truck owners.” Ford did not provide any other details about the EREV Lightning, including potential pricing and when it will go on sale.
Frick and other Ford officials confirmed that production of the current Lightning electric car, which was temporarily halted due to an aluminum plant fire, would not resume, marking the effective end of the electric car after three and a half years on sale.
“Some of the original predictions were that adoption of electric vehicles would be much higher than what actually proved to be the case,” Frick said. “We know that this has not been the case for several reasons, including changes in the regulatory environment, business and consumer tax incentives, (and) battery costs not declining.”
EREVs have emerged as a popular alternative to all-electric vehicles, though perhaps only in theory, as none are currently sold in the U.S. But they are gaining traction in China, and more are planned for North American and European markets from various automakers.
that An EREV typically includes an EV platformcomplete with a large battery, advanced electrical architecture and modern features like software updates, but adds a gas engine to act only as a kind of generator — not to drive the actual wheels, as in a traditional hybrid car. When EREV Lightning goes on sale, it can compete with Scout harvester models And the next Ram 1500 Rev.
The EREV Lightning will replace the Lightning’s presumed successor, the Ford T3. Lisa Drake, Ford’s vice president of technology platform programs and electric vehicle systems, said the automaker was “partially” developing the T3 but still had a few years to go before launch. It did not clarify whether the EREV truck might be a modified version of that platform or something else entirely.
Meanwhile, Ford’s other plans today were to scale back on electric vehicle purchases after getting into the game relatively early with products like Lightning and… Mustang Mach E.
A new electric commercial truck previously planned for Europe has been canceled, and at Ford’s BlueOval City campus, the Tennessee Electric Vehicle Center will be renamed the Tennessee Truck Plant. There, it will manufacture “new, affordable gas-powered trucks.” An electric vehicle battery plant in Kentucky will also be used to create battery energy storage systems now, including artificial intelligence data centers.
This is not the first time that Ford has focused on electric cars. The automaker announced this last summer The planned three-row electric SUV will instead be a hybridand That T3 will be delayed. But a lot has changed in one year, including the ending of tax credits for electric vehicles and weakening fuel economy standards by the Trump administration, erasing any urgency to move to an all-electric market.
However, Ford executives today reiterated their support for Global EV platforma family of U.S.-made electric vehicles aimed at competing with newcomers from China, starting with a truck slated to start at around $30,000 when it goes on sale in 2027. “We’re really excited about our global EVs; those are the pure electric vehicles we’ll be focusing on,” Frick said.
Contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com
