Ford Will Build 15K Lightning in 2022, 80K+/yr by 2024

[F150ROD]

I've gotten that email twice.

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[Maxx]

Most dealers would prefer as many reservation converted as possible. That way they would be able to sell abandoned orders of the lot with a huge markup. Putting a $10K markup will produce a whole lot more profit than $2,500 deposit.

I don’t have much experience with dealers. Does anyone know how we can ensure the dealer does not play games after they receive the truck to encourage you to abandon your order?

I assume many of them will try different tactics if each abandoned order mean $15-$20K markup. My dealer was upfront about Markup being the name of the game for lightening.

Does anyone knows after truck arrives, if things get ugly with the dealer, can you move it to another dealer and complete the deal? Or your choices are paying whatever they ask for or leave the truck?

https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/thr...s-for-2022-f-150-lightning-sign-in-here.3702/
I think the earliest reservations were 10813xxx. I'm assuming the 4 lowest numbers are typos as the dates seem to be wrong. Also we don't know if fleet orders are included in this reservation number scheme

Another evidence that this is true is that they announced they had 20,000 orders in first 12 hours. My reservation number is 30,XXX and I completed mine at the end of the reveal. I think everyone that made reservation that night should get theirs in 2022 (if Ford produces 15,000 as planned).

IMHO, you can compare them to one another. Other than being electric, and if that's your draw, there are cheaper options available.

I have multiple reservations. Being electric is one of the most important factors, being a truck is second but even those are not an absolute must. ICE, PHEV and SUVs are not completely out of the running. The reason I am considering vehicles that are very different from each other is that each of them have their own pros, cons and unknowns. The total score is what keeps them in the running for me. I may get a R1S and keep my old ICE truck for occasional use. Or get rid of my sport car and my truck and replace them with CT or Lightening. The timing of which option becomes available first will have some impact on the choice. We are living in a different world. It is not like you go to multiple dealers on the same day and pickup the one with the best deal. None of these vehicles exist in any consumer Driveways. There is a certain level of crapshoot involved with all. So keeping your options open with refundable deposit is not a bad idea. Of course I understand folks with much narrower focus as far as what they need from their next vehicle.

Priority is based on the time stamp (not reservation number). That will determine your place in line — off and only if you convert to am order promptly.

Can you expand on “properly”? I am a bit clueless on this process.

Agreed. It's weird. I'm sure there are plenty of people who think it's too weird to consider. But I've owned multiple BMW i3s, so I'm obviously not inherently opposed to weird!

The weird part of CT (exterior) is other people’s problem. As the owner, most of the time, you are looking at it from inside and from Leno’s video, I got the impression that it is a very nice place to spend your time,

I haven't. When did you get it?

I got mine on Aug 5 as well (reservation# 30K)

For the Mach E release, the reservation system had four sets of number servers working simultaneously. Each had 1000 numbers. That meant 5456 was a later reservation than 7005. We don’t know how many number servers were working in parallel for the Lightning launch but I'm guessing at least 5.

That explains why Ford emphasizes time stamp.

 

[Dirtyrider89]

I got the email to on the 5th I was 11 mins after it opened 10820185

 

[shutterbug]

August 5th

I stand corrected. I did get this email, but assumed it was all marketing mambo-jumbo and didn't read it. I also didn't recognize it since you pasted from the middle.

I don’t have much experience with dealers. Does anyone know how we can ensure the dealer does not play games after they receive the truck to encourage you to abandon your order?

I assume many of them will try different tactics if each abandoned order mean $15-$20K markup. My dealer was upfront about Markup being the name of the game for lightening.

Does anyone knows after truck arrives, if things get ugly with the dealer, can you move it to another dealer and complete the deal? Or your choices are paying whatever they ask for or leave the truck?

You cannot change dealers after the order is placed. When you place the order, you should see something like this:

You want Difference From MSRP to be zero. If not, switch to a different dealer before submitting the order. The dealer may also insist on mandatory worthless add-ons such as wheel lock, paint protection, undercoating, etc. The time to clarify these before hand. Contact your dealer and confirm that they will accept X-Plan (if available), no mark-up, no add-ons. Best to get this in writing (email).

 

[greenne]

I don’t have much experience with dealers. Does anyone know how we can ensure the dealer does not play games after they receive the truck to encourage you to abandon your order?

I assume many of them will try different tactics if each abandoned order mean $15-$20K markup. My dealer was upfront about Markup being the name of the game for lightening.

Does anyone knows after truck arrives, if things get ugly with the dealer, can you move it to another dealer and complete the deal? Or your choices are paying whatever they ask for or leave the truck?

What I can say is I was VERY CLEAR with the GM of the dealership I would pay MSRP and nothing more. No ADM, no "add ons", no gimmicks, no BS. Yes I have to take his word.

However, what I can say is that in the age of social media, yelp, google reviews, etc, it would be really stupid for a dealer to try to stiff a customer on a previous "deal".

I would totally roast a dealer on every platform available if that happened to me, in addition to complaining to Ford and the BBB.

I think most times if you've researched and looked at reviews on google/yelp and the like you are reasonably safe. I would also suggest a conversation with the dealership general manager or owner.

 

[Sgt Beavis]

I guess those of us that ordered during, or right after, the Lightning's intro are probably good to go for 2022. I can't wait.

 

[Igotnoclevername]

This is encouraging. I fully expect my local dealer to tell me to get bent when I ask for a bit below or at MSRP. If we have an ordering window, that would at least give me some time to check other dealers. I’m willing to drive out to @Granger Ford too, depending on whether they are able to go below MSRP, based on the stellar feedback.

Granger is well below MSRP. Shoot them a message, they're good people and they'll answer your questions to the best of their ability (even if you don't have a reservation with them).

 

[Pioneer74]

2022: 15,000
2023: 55,000
2024: 80,000
2025: 160,000 on the TE1 platform
2026: Maybe 240,000?
2027: Maybe 320,000?

Currently there are 120,000+ reservations. I reserved mine on Aug 1, with a #11118xxx. This is convenient for me, because I wasn't planning to buy until the end of 2023, into 2024 anyway.

Good luck with those numbers. The current Lightning plant can only run 12 to 14 trucks an hour.

 

[Maxx]

I think most times if you've researched and looked at reviews on google/yelp and the like you are reasonably safe. I would also suggest a conversation with the dealership general manager or owner.

Mach-e forum had listed my dealer as No MSRP and they had good reviews. However, three of the four sales people I dealt with were uninformed, unhelpful and unresponsive when I asked for email communication which was a shocker since I was more worried about too much contact from them. It may be the current hot market. I finally walked in to talk to general manager and a sales man sitting by the door like a Doberman kept running interference. Despite me insisting to meet the manager and manager a few steps away knowing I wanted to meet him, it did not happen. The sales man confirmed in person and in email later that they plan to have $10K-$15K markup knowing I was a reservation holder and will not be buying off their lot. Even if there is a chance that sales man is another uninformed individual and information I was given may be incorrect, I know I have to change dealership. I just don’t want to be in a position to have to do it more than once and want to make sure I understand what is the likelihood of bait and switch and my recourse in dealing with it. So far, I have gotten a lot of helpful info from you guys. Thanks a bunch.

p.s. Is GM different from sales manager? If yes, which one would you want to get the commitment from?

 

[sotek2345]

Good luck with those numbers. The current Lightning plant can only run 12 to 14 trucks an hour.

Not sure where you got those numbers - I haven't seen them anywhere. That said, they do line up. 14/hr. is good for ~80k/yr. assuming 24hr (3 shift) operations 5 days a week with 2 weeks off / year (common for line maintenance). ~120k/yr. if they go 7 days a week.

 

[greenne]

Mach-e forum had listed my dealer as No MSRP and they had good reviews. However, three of the four sales people I dealt with were uninformed, unhelpful and unresponsive when I asked for email communication which was a shocker since I was more worried about too much contact from them. It may be the current hot market. I finally walked in to talk to general manager and a sales man sitting by the door like a Doberman kept running interference. Despite me insisting to meet the manager and manager a few steps away knowing I wanted to meet him, it did not happen. The sales man confirmed in person and in email later that they plan to have $10K-$15K markup knowing I was a reservation holder and will not be buying off their lot. Even if there is a chance that sales man is another uninformed individual and information I was given may be incorrect, I know I have to change dealership. I just don’t want to be in a position to have to do it more than once and want to make sure I understand what is the likelihood of bait and switch and my recourse in dealing with it. So far, I have gotten a lot of helpful info from you guys. Thanks a bunch.

p.s. Is GM different from sales manager? If yes, which one would you want to get the commitment from?

My dealer is a small town dealer in a suburb of Albany NY. I chose this dealer because they have been in business a very long time, and I wanted to support a small dealer. If I'm going to order and pay MSRP anyway..I might as well support the little guy. (Usually the big guys win on lot sales because they have inventory and can spread overhead).

After my reservation I received an email from the dealership General manager thanking me for my reservation with his phone number. The dealer is small so it may not have a separate sales and general manager(gm).

I then gave him a call. We had a nice chat and I was nice but firm on what I expected. I did tell them why I chose their dealership and explained that they had good reviews and I assumed if they had been in business this long they build relationships with customers. I am also a Ford guy and this likely will not be my last Ford I will buy(hint, hint).

The general manager did acknowledge that he expected markups at other dealers(i.e. ADM) and he responded "we don't do that stuff here". I told him because it was a hot model I expected to pay full MSRP, nothing more.. no ADM, no add ons. He said no problem.

I don't expect things to be formalized until I go in to order, but I believe I got the message across. I don't expect any problems
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My take on your situation-- the fact they wouldn't respond to you as a customer worries me. If you have to change dealership I would go ahead and do it sooner than later. I would say try from the general manager. He/she is the top dog at the dealer.(Usually the boss of the sales manager)

 

[sotek2345]

Maybe someone going to one of this Lightning tour events can ask the Ford rep to confirm or deny the production numbers.

 

[F-150 Prius]

details on Ford's plans to ramp up production … I assume this is old news, but it's the most recent I've seen with details.

 

[Pioneer74]

Not sure where you got those numbers - I haven't seen them anywhere. That said, they do line up. 14/hr. is good for ~80k/yr. assuming 24hr (3 shift) operations 5 days a week with 2 weeks off / year (common for line maintenance). ~120k/yr. if they go 7 days a week.

I work at DTP. The plant was only set up to run 12 jobs per hour. They are trying to get it to 14. We already run 7 days a week. 3 crews max production is around 87k a year, with no down weeks.

We would be able to run Super Weekends to get more production, but you have to shut down sooner or later for maintenance.

 

[Blainestang]

For the Mach E release, the reservation system had four sets of number servers working simultaneously. Each had 1000 numbers. That meant 5456 was a later reservation than 7005. We don’t know how many number servers were working in parallel for the Lightning launch but I'm guessing at least 5.

Right. I understand that. They're still outliers. The number of people who have posted 10813xxx - 10820xxx numbers is far greater than the number of people who have posted <10813xxx numbers. So, my assumption is that those numbers are not all in use for Lightning OR some are given out in a different way. Perhaps there was 1 server giving out numbers <10813xxx and several giving out >10813xxx or whatever, but they're much rarer and they shouldn't be if all those numbers are reservable Lightnings. There might be a bunch of Mach Es or Broncos mixed into there, for instance.

Someone on FB said they received 10820860.

That's >10813xxx. I'm saying the ones <10813xxx are rare compared to >10813xxx. They were either sporadically given out in that range, or they were given out some other way, IMO.

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