Ford F-150 Lightning for Oz – maybe some day
Strong US demand creates local supply issues for new electric Ford pick-upWhile Ford Australia says it wants to sell the all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning here, strong North American demand indicates it could be years away.
Speculation about the battery-powered version of North America’s top-selling pick-up heading Down Under spiralled last week following the confirmation of a new Melbourne remanufacturing facility that will be churning out right-hand drive F-150s from mid-2023.
“It’s an amazing product,” said Ford Australia boss Andrew Birkic about the Lightning.
“We’ve always got an open mind… we will always have an open mind and look at other opportunities, but right now we are very, very dedicated to ensuring that we deliver a very quality remanufactured product.”
Initially, Ford Australia will release twin-turbo petrol V6 versions of the F-150 XLT and Lariat dual-cabs – not the Lightning, which has been greeted with overwhelming demand since it was revealed in May 2021.
Back then Ford said it planned to build around 40,000 per year from early 2022 at its Rouge plant in Detroit. That figure later climbed to 80,000 per annum by January 2023 and then in January 2022 was bumped again to 150,000 per annum by mid-2023.
According to the most recent reports out of the North America, there have been 200,000 reservations placed for the Lightning. Those reservations holders are getting staggered invites to place orders for the vehicle.
In addition to scaling Lightning production, Ford recently announced the tripling of production for the Mustang Mach-E and expects to reach 200,000-plus units per year by 2023.
Ford’s all-electric van, the E-Transit, goes on sale this year, including in Australia.
But with Ford struggling to meet US demand for the F-150 Lightning for the next several years, it may well be that Australians will have to wait until next-generation electric F-Series pick-up production commences at a new facility dubbed Blue Oval City in Tennessee in 2025.
So there’s a lot to be determined yet before the F-150 Lightning is remanufactured and sold in Australia, and it’s not the only electric pick-up being launched in America.
There’s also the GMC Hummer, Rivian R1T, Chevrolet Silverado EV and – one day – the Tesla Cybertruck (just to name a few).
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