Why Ford’s electric F-150 Lightning is more important than you might think

the Tesla Model S was a big bang, but the Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickup is an even bigger bang. Here is how I came to this conclusion, based on the F-150 Lightning’s Roadshow specs, pricing and first impressions on the road.

First, the Lightning can hardly help but define its segment. It’s right at the intersection of America’s best-selling vehicle and the future of rear-wheel drive. And he approaches this intersection with total normality; you might not even know that this is an electric model unless you are a car enthusiast. It will do a lot to standardize electric trucks.

Electric trucks frankly make more sense than electric cars. While the idea behind electrification is to reduce fuel consumption and exhaust emissions to zero, the higher fuel consumption and emissions of trucks make this the most important starting point.

Ford has a habit of getting truck buyers to do what truck buyers traditionally don’t, including buying trucks that have aluminum bodywork or have engines less than eight cylinders or as small as 2. , 7 liters. Getting those buyers to go electric is an even bigger task, but you can safely say that no one has recently disrupted the truck market as successfully as Ford.

The F-150 Lightning is incredibly affordable. From $ 40,000 before tax incentives, the same price as the average vehicle in the United States. This is remarkable considering that this is a truck with a new powertrain. Whatever the other reasons for buying an electric vehicle, nothing will make it so successful as a higher overall cost compared to models with thermal engines.

And the F-150 Lightning is something to brag about, which matters to truck owners. Whether it’s a 0-60 mph time under 4 seconds, 775 lb-ft of torque, the ability to power a home, or a large front trunk space and innovatively, buyers of F-150 Lightning will be a vocal minority in the pickup truck market.

There are plenty of other electric pickup trucks that shoot the F-150 Lightning, but it’s almost more of an endorsement than a threat. The electric F-150 is a flash in the history of the automobile.