2026 F-150 Lightning STX Model Introduced. Replaces the XLT

[Firn]

I’m not sure successful is the correct term, but I agree “failed” may be harsh. As I said, I think the Lightning EV is the best truck ford has built, and I’ve had a dozen and a half of each 1/2 ton and Superduty. Ford just had so much more potential, but I don’t think the population was ready for an EV truck with the loaded and towing range it provides. Let’s face it, the Lightning has a better mi/kW rating than the competition, but the competition has larger batteries, thus range. Someone always can capitalize on the previous model, but I’m afraid Ford doesn’t see long-term reasons to keep the Lightning unless the demand is really there. With the federal rebate going away, it’s just kill the $65k truck.

I guess i would consider it successful since it has the greatest marketshare, its the best of what the market can handle. Unfortunately the market cant handle much, so we may face the issues you describe.

I really dont see much more potential to be honest. It always had to meet a price point, and I think it barely achieved that. There is little more that could be added to the truck without making it either crazy expensive or a massive loss (assuming they even break even). Now, philosophically, I think the battery thing is a dead fish. Even if doubling the battery, and doubling the charge speed, it would still suck for towing. My camper wants an hour of charging for every hour of driving, even doubling both battery and charging speed still puts it at an hour of charging for two hours of driving. Thats better, yes, it is however still absolutely terrible. I really think ford hit the sweet spot of price and range

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[NW Ontario Ford Lightning]

Glad to see Ford Motor Co do what they can to market the Lightning to more users/demographics - get bums in seats where you can.

The next step will come when we see batteries with 600mile/1000km range and charging in 15-minutes, but to achieve this is not just a battery thing, it is an infrastructure charging thing and will take time to build out.
I fully expect to get 6-8-10 years of use from my Lightning while the battery tech and the charging infrastructure catch up. I will be ready and looking forward to those Next Step trucks when they arrive. Meanwhile charge on and enjoy.

 

[sunrise089]

Why do you think the Lightning would do better with 500 miles of range and the associated higher price? What is your example of an EV where that combo led to sales success? Critics love 400-500 mile EVs, but buyers don’t.

 

[Altivec]

I guess i would consider it successful since it has the greatest marketshare, its the best of what the market can handle. Unfortunately the market cant handle much, so we may face the issues you describe.

I really dont see much more potential to be honest. It always had to meet a price point, and I think it barely achieved that. There is little more that could be added to the truck without making it either crazy expensive or a massive loss (assuming they even break even). Now, philosophically, I think the battery thing is a dead fish. Even if doubling the battery, and doubling the charge speed, it would still suck for towing. My camper wants an hour of charging for every hour of driving, even doubling both battery and charging speed still puts it at an hour of charging for two hours of driving. Thats better, yes, it is however still absolutely terrible. I really think ford hit the sweet spot of price and range

I kind of agree with you and I kind of don't. The market is growing all be it slowly. When I first got my truck, very few seemed to notice. I was at an event this past week where I had to load/unload a bunch of supplies at a big public event. I was unexplicably bombarded with questions and compliments about my truck. I think a lot of people are starting to open up to the idea. These things just take time.

I think you are right that adding range solves nothing. You are either using an ev truck for in town driving most of the time or its not for you (and there is a huge market that does just that). Getting an extra 100 miles in a Silverado accomplishes nothing for this application. It just makes it heavier and less efficient. It's not like you can say if I get a Silverado, I can now tow long distances every day. It only helps a very few percentage of people where that 100 miles is just going to make the difference to get to their lake of choice on one charge.

Ford is on the right track of keeping prices down instead of going the GM route but there are things they can do. The STX is a great idea but I wish they would go a little further with refreshes. New grills (although the STX did get one, it would be nice if the entire line got refreshed, maybe the raptor type grill), new light bar (its getting dated), get rid of the problematic gear shift, up the computer processor, maybe a bigger 12 volt, and make the software the talk of the town instead of everyone crapping on it. Some marketing wouldn't hurt either. How about some best selling EV truck commercials. These are things they can do to keep things fresh and at a low cost. I am happy to see the STX because it means they haven't given up but I think they need to do more to prove this is the future and that Ford is in it for the long haul to stay on top.

If my truck got totalled today and I had to re-buy, I would definitely get another lightning but I would be really disappointed that I would essentially be getting the exact same truck but with less stuff in it. As I said, the range in the GM trucks does nothing for me, the interiors suck, I have had very bad experiences with GM products, Need to pay to use the app, no CarPlay and the lightning is the only ev truck with a fully boxed steel frame (something I see very little people valuing like I do). I love my lightning and think they did a great job on it, it's just the lack of priority or ability to get the simple, requested fixes in the software that gets me hot and bothered. They are still pushing out updates which is encouraging but man, at this pace, my truck will be ready for the wreckers before I can just keep my truck in sports mode.

 

[NW Ontario Ford Lightning]

Why do you think the Lightning would do better with 500 miles of range and the associated higher price? What is your example of an EV where that combo led to sales success? Critics love 400-500 mile EVs, but buyers don’t.

Sorry, I meant to say 600 mile range at the same price point as the current generation of batteries.

I follow solar and stationary battery tech closely - my other addiction er, hobby. The battery tech is moving much faster than you realize. There will be lower cost batteries in a few years that weigh less, charge faster with much higher energy capacity.

You're right that using current battery tech, a 500mile range 9,000 lb EV truck is not a winning combination, because of the price. {looking at you Hummer, Sierra RST} but imagine lower cost higher energy batteries that can charge in 15-minutes, and cost Less than current smaller range packs...it's coming.

 

[Zaptor]

Too close to Atlas Blue. I like my 2022-only color limited...
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[sunrise089]

Sorry, I meant to say 600 mile range at the same price point as the current generation of batteries.

I follow solar and stationary battery tech closely - my other addiction er, hobby. The battery tech is moving much faster than you realize. There will be lower cost batteries in a few years that weigh less, charge faster with much higher energy capacity.

You're right that using current battery tech, a 500mile range 9,000 lb EV truck is not a winning combination, because of the price. {looking at you Hummer, Sierra RST} but imagine lower cost higher energy batteries that can charge in 15-minutes, and cost Less than current smaller range packs...it's coming.

I'm very sorry, I was trying to respond to @Smokewagun who said the Lightning failed because the range was mediocre. I didn't see several more comments had come in including more from @Smokewagun who softened/clarified his original comment.

You are no doubt right that a 600 mile $50k Lightning would be well positioned for success. my quibble, and again this wasn't intended to be directed at you, is people here but especially on YouTube and in the media who want the Lightning to look more like competing options that cost $100k. That's easy for them to say when they're driving a review unit for free, but I believe with 2022-2025 technology the Lightning is set up just about right because any additional range would be more than counterbalanced by cost.

 

[Kev12345]

CATL Naxtra Sodium battery will be a game changer for trucks. They’ll still be heavy but way cheaper than LFP with faster charging and better cold weather performance. Slap those in a Lightning!

 

[WXman]

Well see that's the problem. From day 1 the task has been "how do we get people who've grown up with ICE to try EV?" And the pickup truck market is doubly tough, because guys haul, tow, and drive lots of miles in them. That's why I say RANGE IS KING.

I'll give a personal example. Our favorite campground/lake/four wheeling trails are 225 miles away from my house. I've done the math and with my camper in tow I probably have to stop three times and charge to make it there. ALL of my previous ICE trucks would make it there with one stop of less than 15 minutes total. Now I'm facing three stops of 45 minutes or more each. If you don't think that puts a major damper on what would otherwise be a fun trip, try loading a wife and kids into a truck and adding three 45 minute stops to charge on the way to the campground and then three more to get back home.

If I just had double the range it would be a game changer. Let's say I can drive nearly 200 miles on a single charge while towing. Then I could reduce my stops enough to make it closer to the ICE experience. Now let's say battery and charging tech advances to where I can go from 20 to 80% in 15 minutes. Now it's REALLY starting to get close to the ICE experience. That's a complete game changer, and at that point I would have zero desire to go back to an ICE truck ever again.

But, in current configuration it's going to be a real pain. And the only reason I leased this truck is because we don't go camping as much as we used to and therefore I can manage this I think.

ICE truck: $55k, up to 500 miles of range, can go 5% to 100% full in 5 minutes on any corner in America. Loses about 45% of range while towing.

EV truck: $75k, up to 300 miles of range, can go 20% to 80% in 45 minutes after searching maps for a while to find a charge location. Loses 65% of range while towing.

That's 100% the reason EV truck sales are still a tiny fraction of ICE truck sales, and nobody will convince me otherwise.

 

[sunrise089]

Agree to disagree. I think your issue is totally legitimate but represents maybe 10% of the reason EV truck sales lag ICE trucks.

Again if your 100% the reason is correct then max range GM truck sales should have totally displaced SR Lightning sales. How’s that working out?

 

[Kev12345]

I'll give a personal example. Our favorite campground/lake/four wheeling trails are 225 miles away from my house. I've done the math and with my camper in tow I probably have to stop three times and charge to make it there. ALL of my previous ICE trucks would make it there with one stop of less than 15 minutes total. Now I'm facing three stops of 45 minutes or more each. If you don't think that puts a major damper on what would otherwise be a fun trip, try loading a wife and kids into a truck and adding three 45 minute stops to charge on the way to the campground and then three more to get back home.

If I just had double the range it would be a game changer. Let's say I can drive nearly 200 miles on a single charge while towing. Then I could reduce my stops enough to make it closer to the ICE experience. Now let's say battery and charging tech advances to where I can go from 20 to 80% in 15 minutes. Now it's REALLY starting to get close to the ICE experience. That's a complete game changer, and at that point I would have zero desire to go back to an ICE truck ever again.

Show her how much you’re saving on your daily commute compared to the old V8!

I hear you, faster charging would at least make the frequent stops less painful on long drives. Hopefully the next gen trucks make big improvements in the road trip department.

 

[NW Ontario Ford Lightning]

We still have a few vehicles between my wife and I, so one is still ICE, one is Electic and one is PHEV. We pick and choose what we need for what application. I always take the Lighting as first choice when I can - ie not long distance towing- It is the most fun to drive of all them.

 

[El Duderino]

Agree to disagree. I think your issue is totally legitimate but represents maybe 10% of the reason EV truck sales lag ICE trucks.

Again if your 100% the reason is correct then max range GM truck sales should have totally displaced SR Lightning sales. How’s that working out?

Because lots of buyers know GM"s quality is awful and has been for decades... Over 600,000 6.2L LT V8s currently under recall ... 1st year Silverado EV has a poor reputation... It looks like a 2003 plastic Avalanche all over again...

A Lightning looks like an F150...

 

[NW Ontario Ford Lightning]

I chatted with a guy recently - I was DCFC on the hwy and he was charging his 2024 Sierra EV.
He showed me his truck and it was pretty nice - gotta admit it. The 200kWh battery is something, and very heavy truck. He said 740km range (460 miles) on a full charge.
I looked one up locally and they still had a 2024 on the lot, going for 80K CAN micro-dollars (about 60K USD) for the RST max-pack. was tempted...for a few minutes.

 

[sunrise089]

Because lots of buyers know GM"s quality is awful and has been for decades... Over 600,000 6.2L LT V8s currently under recall ... 1st year Silverado EV has a poor reputation... It looks like a 2003 plastic Avalanche all over again...

A Lightning looks like an F150...

I mean it’s up to people if they want to have a serious discussion or a jokey meme discussion. It’s the internet so it’s not like the stakes are high.

If we’re being serious, the Chevy + GMC twins outsell the F Series. Doesn’t mean I think they’re better and certainly doesn’t mean this forum thinks they’re better. But if significant numbers of people were only picking away from the Chevy for quality concerns there wouldn’t be several hundred thousand Silverado ICE buyers each year. Likewise the Rivian and the Tesla trucks don’t look like normal trucks.

Point is there is a Ford option and a Chevy option. A short range option and a long range option. A futuristic looking option and a more conventional option. Yet sales remain low in relative terms.

The reason is price, then price, then price. THEN it’s things like inability to charge with apartment or street parking, cruddy public charging infrastructure aside from Tesla chargers, political tribalism, FOMO from the fast pace of new EV vehicle introductions, fear of new tech, the towing issues identified above, and the severe depreciation.

I say all of that as a guy preparing to sell his ICE truck and buy a Lightning. I think the overall package of the Lightning is very compelling. But, respectfully, if the Lightning tomorrow had a 500 mile range sales would go up for sure, but nowhere remotely near that of the ICE F150. Someday, but not today and not soon.

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