Ford may be poised to double its production target for the F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck in response to strong customer interest, Reuters reported Monday.
The automaker is targeting annual production of 80,000 units in 2024, up from the initial target of 40,000 units, according to the report, which cites anonymous sources familiar with the matter.
The Lightning was revealed in May and has been received very well, in terms of actual reservations. Ford wouldn't directly comment on production targets, however.
"We are excited with customer demand for the F-150 Lightning and already have 120,000 customer reservations, and we will continue to look for ways to break constraints and meet customer demand," a statement from the automaker said.
2022 Ford F-150 Lightning Pro
Ford will ramp up to that goal, the report said. The Lightning is scheduled to launch next spring as a 2022 model, and Ford plans to build about 15,000 trucks for the 2022 calendar year, the report said. That will reportedly increase to 55,000 in 2023.
A second-generation Lightning will launch in 2025, with a production target of 160,000 units per year, the report said. While the 2022 Lightning will use a modified version of the current F-150 platform, this version will use a dedicated EV platform dubbed TE1, according to previous reports.
This could be an indication that there is some substance behind the predictions that electric pickups will be the next big thing. The Lightning is just one of many such vehicles unveiled over the past few years.
2022 Ford F-150 Lightning Pro
Like standard F-150, Ford plans to market the Lightning toward both retail customers and fleets. Its primarily personal-use rival is the Rivian R1T, while potential fleet rivals include the Chevrolet Silverado EV (due in 2024) and the Lordstown Endurance.
The Endurance uses in-wheel hub motors, something Ford nixed for the Lightning. Lordstown also claimed a substantial number of reservations, but a report for the company's board of directors released earlier this year found those claims to be inaccurate.
The Tesla Cybertruck has also generated a lot of interest since its November 2019 unveiling. CEO Elon Musk announced that the Cybertruck found 146,000 reservations after a single day and 250,000 reservations within the first week, and according to one fan-sourced counter, the Cybertruck has accumulated more than 1.2 million reservations to date. However, it's unclear when the Cybertruck will actually enter production.
