F-150 Lightning is the best selling EV pickup in the U.S.

[TaxmanHog]

I think the sunk costs of development and the assembly plant tooling/set up will take a lot more truck sales to have a chance to spread that out thin enough.

There are several property classes and time periods for depreciation involved from the tax perspective, maybe also viewed similarly from the investment/sales/returns point of view.

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[WXman]

If we assume it cost Billions to develop the truck and set up the assembly plant,
and then divide by, say 75,000 Lightnings sold to date?

For every Billion invested that is $13,300 per truck. Let that sink in.

If it cost just two billion to launch, then the cost per truck to date is $26,600 and they still have to cover the parts and assembly for each truck on top of this.

I think the sunk costs of development and the assembly plant tooling/set up will take a lot more truck sales to have a chance to spread that out thin enough. Something like 200,000 trucks would have been more in line with the investment.

Hope they keep working on the Lightning until the next battery tech leap comes - something lighter, cheaper, faster-charging. Then launch a Second Gen Lightning. By then public charging may be up to the task - pull throughs, more DCFC more public acceptance.

I was thinking that Ford sells roughly 30,000 Lightning trucks annually. We just finished the fourth model year of production, so there should be roughly 120,000 trucks sold so far. The 2026 model year should in theory get them to around 150,000 trucks. Most likely they'll keep the Lightning around for one more model year in 2027 before pulling the plug (pun intended). So, they'll get really close to that 200,000 number you've got in mind I think.

 

[NW Ontario Ford Lightning]

I was thinking that Ford sells roughly 30,000 Lightning trucks annually. We just finished the fourth model year of production, so there should be roughly 120,000 trucks sold so far. The 2026 model year should in theory get them to around 150,000 trucks. Most likely they'll keep the Lightning around for one more model year in 2027 before pulling the plug (pun intended). So, they'll get really close to that 200,000 number you've got in mind I think.

Not sure if these are sales or production numbers, and if they include sales outside of the US, but these were the figures I could find online:
2022 15,617
2023 24,165
2024 33,510
2025 23,034 todate

total of 96,326

{Edit: interesting to consider: 21,000 members on this forum would mean 22% of Lightning owers are forum members ! }

 

[Maxx]

Poetic accuity preserves post 2, but PLEASE don't send this thread off the rails, thank you very much.

Is that pass a kind remark?
or a forum loophole to use after dark?

Lightning is the champ, not because CT is crass
or due to CTs gigantic glass
not even because of Lightning’s higher class
it’s simply for one reason:; Elon is an ass

 

[TaxmanHog]

There is distinction between post 2 and post 19.
Demeaning characters be they forum members or public figures is frowned upon.

 

[Maxx]

There is distinction between post 2 and post 19.
Demeaning characters be they forum members or public figures is frowned upon.

Ass was short for Assertive. If Elon didn’t push for that design the engineers could make something better and beat Lightning. Not sure if this defense holds up in court but I had to give it a shot. I will try to behave in subsequent posts. This dude just gets under my skin.

 

[chl]

If we assume it cost Billions to develop the truck and set up the assembly plant,
and then divide by, say 75,000 Lightnings sold to date?

For every Billion invested that is $13,300 per truck. Let that sink in.

If it cost just two billion to launch, then the cost per truck to date is $26,600 and they still have to cover the parts and assembly for each truck on top of this.

I think the sunk costs of development and the assembly plant tooling/set up will take a lot more truck sales to have a chance to spread that out thin enough. Something like 200,000 trucks would have been more in line with the investment.

Hope they keep working on the Lightning until the next battery tech leap comes - something lighter, cheaper, faster-charging. Then launch a Second Gen Lightning. By then public charging may be up to the task - pull throughs, more DCFC more public acceptance.

Agreed.

If they have just electrified the Ranger (again, only this time with Li batteries) and kept the cost around $40k, that would have been fine, and probably easier to do.

I think they over complicated things which always costs more.

A lean and mean EV truck is all I wanted and needed to replace my 2001 Ranger XL.

Not that I don't like the Lightning...but if I could change it, I'd make it narrower, lower to the ground, lighter, more efficient and streamlined/aerodynamic.

Someone might come along and make that kind of thing and take over the market, but for now, group-think rules the day.

I can dream can't I?

 

[chl]

I

There is distinction between post 2 and post 19.
Demeaning characters be they forum members or public figures is frowned upon.

I didn't mean to demean anybody (post #2), did I demean somebody?

I was just stating the fact that, like it or not, the President and the new congress are the reason the tax credits are going away...at least on the planet I live on.

And I took #19 to be an off-color way of saying "yes, no kidding, that's true, you're right!"

But maybe @Effonefiddy Lightning meant something else - it's hard to convey tone and intent on blogs with just text and emojis.

I give people the benefit of the doubt, that their intentions are good.

Alas, it is what it is.

 

[NW Ontario Ford Lightning]

We should have a National 'Take a buddy on a test drive in your Lightning Day'

I took my own advice:

Picked up a buddy after work today pretty serious Gear Head but he works in instrumentation so knows a lot about "IT" stuff:
- "no if's, and's or but's about it we're going for a drive and you will be driving this truck on the way back"
He put up a bit of a fight, but jumped in the truck anyway and off we went, 0-60 in 4 seconds (he was hanging onto the A-Pillar grab bar and all I could hear was "Holly Crap Robert, what ya got in this thing, rocket fuel"
"Nope, just electrons."

We drove down the hwy a few miles and turned at a side road, switched seats. As we drove back, the questions came rapid fire: what did ya pay for this truck? how far do you get on a charge, do you charge at home - what does that cost ya? Did you say you drive to Winnipeg and back in this truck, how do you do that? is it expensive for insurance?
We discussed all his questions and all he could say was - "I gotta get one of these, can't believe the power it has."

Someone said it awhile back (wish I could recall who) "Get Bums in Seats"
Most guys I know have never been in any EV let alone a Lightning, let them experince it for themselves - you just answer their questions and let the truck speak for itself.

 

[electricpig]

Not sure if these are sales or production numbers, and if they include sales outside of the US, but these were the figures I could find online:
2022 15,617
2023 24,165
2024 33,510
2025 23,034 todate

total of 96,326

{Edit: interesting to consider: 21,000 members on this forum would mean 22% of Lightning owers are forum members ! }

I read somewhere back when the lightning first came out, that Ford estimated building 20K/yr, but was surprised by initial demand, so tooled up for 200K. But then Ford and dealers got greedy jacking up the price, and then dealers started working against selling them for many reasons. So yo get what we have now.

 

[TaxmanHog]

I read somewhere back when the lightning first came out, that Ford estimated building 20K/yr, but was surprised by initial demand, so tooled up for 200K. But then Ford and dealers got greedy jacking up the price, and then dealers started working against selling them for many reasons. So yo get what we have now.

It was 150k, and yes they expanded the Rouge plant to increase efficiency and flow to get to that number, but sales never peaked hence production only once or twice hit the daily run rate for that level of annual production, (I was measuring it during model year 2022 & 2023)

 

[TaxmanHog]

I didn't mean to demean anybody (post #2), did I demean somebody?

No, I was comparing your post to the subsequent post that was edging up against the line of acceptability.

I would appreciate an effort to stay on the technical aspects of our trucks and out of the gutter of politics.

 

[fhteagle]

Someone might come along and make that kind of thing and take over the market, but for now, group-think rules the day.

Sounds like you should check out the TELO truck. I've been following them for some time, had a chance to talk with the CEO, etc. Should be a very useful little vehicle once it makes it to market...

 

[Vulnox]

I took my own advice:

Picked up a buddy after work today pretty serious Gear Head but he works in instrumentation so knows a lot about "IT" stuff:
- "no if's, and's or but's about it we're going for a drive and you will be driving this truck on the way back"
He put up a bit of a fight, but jumped in the truck anyway and off we went, 0-60 in 4 seconds (he was hanging onto the A-Pillar grab bar and all I could hear was "Holly Crap Robert, what ya got in this thing, rocket fuel"
"Nope, just electrons."

We drove down the hwy a few miles and turned at a side road, switched seats. As we drove back, the questions came rapid fire: what did ya pay for this truck? how far do you get on a charge, do you charge at home - what does that cost ya? Did you say you drive to Winnipeg and back in this truck, how do you do that? is it expensive for insurance?
We discussed all his questions and all he could say was - "I gotta get one of these, can't believe the power it has."

Someone said it awhile back (wish I could recall who) "Get Bums in Seats"
Most guys I know have never been in any EV let alone a Lightning, let them experince it for themselves - you just answer their questions and let the truck speak for itself.

Yeah, even works on yourself! We had the Mach-e and PowerBoost F-150 as I was trying to keep an ICE vehicle around. But we kept taking the Mach-e places even though the PowerBoost was meant to be the family/trip vehicle. The smooth and quiet drive was addicting and a few road trips proved out that road trips weren’t really an issue.

So then we got the Lightning and are a full EV family with zero desire to go back. For many, at least those that can overcome the hurdle of being able to charge at home, it just becomes such an obvious shift.

I compare it a bit to those that grew up before HDTVs. We played early video games, watched movies, sports, etc, on these often small low def screens. It was fine, and much like your neighbor getting a muscle car, people talked like it was magic if someone had a 32” tube TV that weighed about 300lbs.

Then we got HDTVs and they got better and cheaper as the years went on. Now even those of us that spent almost half our lives with tube tvs can’t even fathom going back to them and wonder how we put up with grainy and small screens.

I feel the same way about ICE vehicles. There are at still some fun ICE vehicles out there for sure, the exotics and classics, it’s like going to a movie theater. But for day to day, most would rather just sit and watch their large HDTV and drive their lower maintenance EV. Just have to get people to give it a shot.

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