Blue Oval Says Next Gen Ford F-150 Lightning Customers Will Be Long Distance Drivers

[TaxmanHog]

Blue Oval Says Next Gen Ford F-150 Lightning Customers Will Be Long Distance Drivers

By Brett Foote
July 15, 2026 8:09 am

Last December, The Blue Oval announced that it was discontinuing the all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning, though that very same pickup will return as an extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) at some undisclosed point in the future. Aside from multiple price increases that took place shortly after the F-150 Lightning launched, the EV pickup failed in large part because it caught severe flack for losing significant range when towing, making it a chore to charge on longer trips, too. However, the EREV variant is more geared toward all of those long-haul truckers out there who weren't fans of the EV for that reason, it seems.

According to The Blue Oval, the next-generation Ford F-150 Lightning (and other forthcoming EREVs), is aimed at "long-distance towers and haulers, job-site professionals needing mobile power, and rural or urban drivers who want an EV experience without depending on public chargers." Like EVs, EREVs utilize large battery packs and electric motors to drive the wheels, but also employ a gas generator that helps provide power back to the battery pack on longer journeys.

The benefits of EREVs extend beyond that capability, however - they also offer up the same instant torque, quiet acceleration, and one-pedal driving as EVs, all while providing a driving range of up to 700 miles, in the case of the forthcoming Lightning. If charging isn't available, one can simply fill up at a gas station, too.

Ford plans to offer EREV powertrains in more than just the future F-150 Lightning, too - that list also includes larger, family-focused SUVs and big trucks. "But that's only part of our strategy. In addition to that, we're betting on hybrid across our lineup and EREV where it makes sense for our duty cycle, like large trucks where towing is a real important application and both FHEV and pure electric will definitely not work," Ford CEO Jim Farley previously stated.

Sponsored

 

[TwentyTwentyThree]

Reposting what I said in a different thread, this appears more fitting here:

The whole concept of EREV is comical. Between maintaining what is effectively now two vehicles under one roof, to filling up an an EV with gas or Charging an ICE vehicle with electricity.

 

[Albern]

I'm never going to add a petrol vehicle to my fleet , so why would this EREV be a contender?

 

[TaxmanHog]

I'm never going to add a petrol vehicle to my fleet , so why would this EREV be a contender?

Because some of us are considering it.

 

[Rayden]

Because some of us are considering it.

I think this is going to be a bit of a waste of time. I understand why people like you are attracted to it b/c you tow enough that it seems advantageous to you. And maybe it would be. But I think 2 things are going to make it a day late and a dollar short:
1)The battery tech is changing rapidly. Sodium Ion is just of the new advances.
2)Do you guys ever watch The Network Architect channel on YT? Or the Arkansas ETraveler (dedicated to Walmart's network progress)? The weekly updates they detail on the continuing growth of charging infrastructure are showing that it will not be much longer before we're mostly unconcerned about range b/c of charger ubiquity.

Remember when we used to have dedicated GPS (Garmin, TomTom, etc..) devices? I got a motorcycle specific one installed on my bike when I retired from the Navy in 2011. It was useful for about a year before smartphones made it obsolete. I feel like this is pretty much the same.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Yes .... I'm paying attention to market conditions, what develops (or not) will impact my decision at the time the product is available, for now an EREV is in play as my next truck.

BTW, there is an EA DCFC at the Walmart on RT-38 Tewksbury Mass on my tow route, and a Tesla at Littleton Mass, further down i-495, these stations are what make the trip reasonable for local racing events.

I'd like the travel longer distances with the trailer, {In a timely fashion} to various tracks east of the Mississippi and as far south as Florida.

 

[electricpig]

With all the recalls from Fords vehicles, both gas and electric, it's scarry as hell to think what likely to come out of the fast track cramping both and the complexity of intergrating them into one Truck. It's not like their track record has been improving at all. Bean counters and corner cutting has run amuck at Ford IMHO. Making the largest possible margin mentality has removed real engineers, and over ruled real engineering. They admitted a few days ago that they let go a bunch of engineers in favor of AI, and that was a mistake. What did Ford do? Rehire some of those fired engineers to train the AI better, so that they can be let go again. What could possibly go wrong with that plan? That is how Ford is designing and sourcing the EREV. Very similar state of affairs as the US Auto when cheap well made Japanese vehicles arrived.

 

[K6CCC]

The weekly updates they detail on the continuing growth of charging infrastructure are showing that it will not be much longer before we're mostly unconcerned about range b/c of charger ubiquity.

Yes, charger availability is becoming a non issue. HOWEVER, time is still an issue. If you are having to charge for 45 minutes every 2 hours, that is a huge time drain. Granted, newer (and higher voltage) batteries will mitigate a lot of that, but at least the current Lightnings don't have that. I don't know what the EREV Lightning will have.
And no, I don't tow a trailer, but I grew up doing so. I remember at about 100 miles since a fillup, start looking for gas.

 

[MountainAlive]

I’m sure there is a market out there for people who want an EREV Lightning, but it would be amazing if Ford could also offer a pure BEV version of the next gen Lightning as well, built off the same platform as the EREV version.

 

[RickLightning]

I’m sure there is a market out there for people who want an EREV Lightning, but it would be amazing if Ford could also offer a pure BEV version of the next gen Lightning as well, built off the same platform as the EREV version.

Even if they did, which they won't, its battery won't have the range anyone wants.

 

[Tony Burgh]

The worst of both worlds joined together. And attractive to an even smaller customer base.
I wish I had a picture of the 60’s amphibian car/boats.
Military use? Yes. But the public just laughed at personal use.
Not a great analogy but.………

 

[Zaptor]

"like large trucks where towing is a real important application and ... pure electric will definitely not work,"


Only the Sith deal in absolutes. /s

Works fine for me, I'm towing heavy, 5-10k, 40-50% of the time... just short trips though. Infrastructure and charge speed could fix this just as easily as reinventing.

I am an EV truck buyer, never an EREV buyer; this, like the tiny truck is a miss IMO. More cost, more maintenance, more complexity, should have stayed the course.


-Zap

 

[DoyouLightning]

I agree with Zap above I purchased an EV cause I want petrol independence. flFossil Fuels are not the answer and this erev option does not feel like the correct choice. But of course only time will tell.

On a side note it appears the biggest complaints are from the towing side, if thats the case why don't they just make an erev trailer option? Or better yet a drop in generator that can be added into the bed like several heavy trucks have extra gas tanks in their beds. Canceling out our trucks for a mini truck with erev just seems silly. I realize there is still a market but for now im keeping my truck longer then I would have initially thought.

 

[Garyl]

What I have trouble understanding is the absolute need for long distance towing in an EV F150. If long distance towing is your priority Ford already makes a vehicle for you F150 with eco boost or basically a hybrid by another name. Why not market the correct tool for the job to the correct customer. BEV to the people who consider it the the correct tool ICE to those who need it. And no this small ev that they want to sell me is not the correct tool for me. I think Ford has totally misjudged the market.

 

[Harman023]

I'm a big guy. I have owned 4 F-150s because they are large and comfortable. If Ford thinks they need something for long-distance towing, they screwed up building a Mini Cooper-sized truck. I would love to know how many people actually tow long distance vs how many people will purchase another brand BEV for their next truck.

Sponsored