Ford sends out Lightning survey email - Help us plan for your F-150 Lightning Order

[KevinC]

“Note that we expect nearly all of our current reservation holders will be invited to order by next summer.”

I guess you could call that encouraging

They're only making 80,000 and they expect the remaining 180,000 to get invited. That means the expect a conversion rate of less that 50% .

The timing of the survey is unfortunate if not possibly disingenuous. If they wanted to know our preferences they should have asked months ago before they locked into the allocation rates which are not likely to be very flexible at this point.

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[thevofl]

Apparently the max recline seats with active motion are still a thing for the Platinum trim.

 

[Kevin22]

It’s official. I am getting a Silverado. Have a nice day everyone. What the heck @Ford Motor Company

 

[Nick Gerteis]

They're only making 80,000 and they expect the remaining 180,000 to get invited. That means the expect a conversion rate of less that 50% .

The timing of the survey is unfortunate if not possibly disingenuous. If they wanted to know our preferences they should have asked months ago before they locked into the allocation rates which are not likely to be very flexible at this point.

To be fair they probably wanted to wait for the tax credit bill to pass. They knew that was going to influence a lot of buying decisions.

 

[F150Blue]

It’s official. I am getting a Silverado. Have a nice day everyone. What the heck @Ford Motor Company

They will do the same and there pro doesn’t come out till 2024

 

[Rando]

“Note that we expect nearly all of our current reservation holders will be invited to order by next summer.”

I guess you could call that encouraging

They forgot to add the “a $76k SR Lariat and up” after order. That’s why they expect to invite everyone because a significant portion of the list likely won’t find that appealing and will cancel.

 

[rdr854]

I'm a 5/20 reservation and got the email. I am not encouraged by the survey questions. What irritates me most is that they ask how much a reservation deposit we'd be filling to stomach and whether it could non-refundable. (screen shots already posted by others above)

Those questions don't seem to give any consideration to the manufacturer jacking up the prices after making the deposit, nor to the ever-present risk of ADM (and the opportunity cost given the considerable effort necessary to churn around dealers even if a transfer is possible).

Why doesn't Ford seem to grasp that how much would-be buyers would pay when making a non-refundable deposit would care an awful lot about price certainty and ADM?!

My understanding is that non refundable deposits are not kosher in Virginia. I have heard that from several dealerships.

 

[RVALightning]

They're only making 80,000 and they expect the remaining 180,000 to get invited. That means the expect a conversion rate of less that 50% .

The timing of the survey is unfortunate if not possibly disingenuous. If they wanted to know our preferences they should have asked months ago before they locked into the allocation rates which are not likely to be very flexible at this point.

This summer people are ordering MY23, so there statement is still true if people are ordering MY24 next summer… no doubt they anticipate breakage but I don’t think that is what gave them confidence in making that statement.

 

[TF1000]

Jeez, I wonder what the price increase will be for the MY24 Pro. Looks like the only MY23 Pros will be for the few who extended their order or for fleet purchases.

 

[Maquis]

They're only making 80,000 and they expect the remaining 180,000 to get invited. That means the expect a conversion rate of less that 50% .

The timing of the survey is unfortunate if not possibly disingenuous. If they wanted to know our preferences they should have asked months ago before they locked into the allocation rates which are not likely to be very flexible at this point.

Not necessarily. The higher the conversion, the more extended the delivery time. Folks could be waiting over a year after converting if the conversion rate is high. Some Mach-E orders took over a year to fulfill.

 

[jb56]

If Ford makes the order deposits higher and non-refundable (as was asked about in the survey), but fails to lock the purchase price (and eliminate ADM) and fails to give reasonable timeline estimates, that will mean Ford has finally embraced its douchebag role.

It's like they learned with the last two years of Bronco production that they can treat customers like absolute garbage so long as they have a desirable product, but the board room was still like "whoa whoa, we better ask these dummies before we make the deposits non-refundable"

 

[COrocket]

They forgot to add the “a $76k SR Lariat and up” after order. That’s why they expect to invite everyone because a significant portion of the list likely won’t find that appealing and will cancel.

I really wish they would have had a comment section in the survey to elaborate on the reservation satisfaction process. I hope that they are eventually able to build a ER version of the truck at $79,999 to qualify for the tax credit.

It’ll be interesting to see how the conversion rate of the Lariat + models go, now that people are not only contending with the 10%+ bumps in MSRP but also the fact that retail can not order an ER truck in any trim below $80k to get the tax credit. (Basically a net $15,000 increase in a single year) IMO it is a huge mistake to not have an affordable option for retail people that need the ER battery to get a workable towing and road trip range.

Paying $90,000+ out the door for an XLT ER F-150 with cloth seats is a bit eye catching to say the least. I was planning on the 2022 Lariat ER right under the cap to get the credit and hopefully keep the truck in the $70k range after credit but I’ll probably have to reconsider after the 2023 pricing structure was revealed.

 

[TomLVNV]

Received the email yesterday as well. I want the Pro only and stated as much. Hopefully pricing for the Silverado EV, that I reserved on day 1 within mins of reservation opening, releases before I get the invite from Ford to order/cancel. It looks like the 1989 Ford Probe will remain the only Ford I'll ever own if Ford keeps messing around.

 

[RickLightning]

I really wish they would have had a comment section in the survey to elaborate on the reservation satisfaction process. I hope that they are eventually able to build a ER version of the truck at $79,999 to qualify for the tax credit.

It’ll be interesting to see how the conversion rate of the Lariat + models go, now that people are not only contending with the 10%+ bumps in MSRP but also the fact that retail can not order an ER truck in any trim below $80k to get the tax credit. (Basically a net $15,000 increase in a single year) IMO it is a huge mistake to not have an affordable option for retail people that need the ER battery to get a workable towing and road trip range.

Paying $90,000+ out the door for an XLT ER F-150 with cloth seats is a bit eye catching to say the least. I was planning on the 2022 Lariat ER right under the cap to get the credit and hopefully keep the truck in the $70k range after credit but I’ll probably have to reconsider after the 2023 pricing structure was revealed.

I believe that a majority of potential buyers don't understand what tax credits are, nor the changes in the law. They will order, then at tax time be very upset.

I'm exactly where you are. I was planning on buying an $80,000 Lariat, and getting a $7,500 tax credit, for a total of ~$77,000 after taxes. Now, I'd be looking at ~$15,000 more total with no tax credit, so I won't be ordering given that. I can't sell that to the wife, or to myself. $77,000 was absurd, but I rationalized it by saying I would sell my Mach-E and be out of pocket close to nothing, and that was before I saw the true miles per kWh. No range gain over the Mach-E, and 40% more expensive to get anywhere. I'll wait until the Explorer EV comes out, and then MAYBE buy.

 

[Maquis]

I believe that a majority of potential buyers don't understand what tax credits are, nor the changes in the law. They will order, then at tax time be very upset.

I’m not sure about the majority, but I know there are abandoned customer orders for ID4s and E-Trons sitting on dealer’s lots near me. Abandoned because the buyers lost the tax credit. Small sample size, of course.

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