Ford has a problem that most manufacturers hope to have. It has so many reservations for its upcoming F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck that it is forced to stop others from placing orders.
The battery-powered truck has accumulated about 200,000 reservations, and Ford thinks it has to actually start producing the vehicle.
The news of the close of reservation came after the CEO updated the number of buyers waiting to buy the F-150 Lightning.
Production is scheduled to start in 2022, but it appears some people that booked for a unit will wait a couple of years before taking delivery of their vehicle. Ford said it plans to ramp up manufacturing to 80,000 units per year in 2024. If the company does not increase its investment in workforce and production capacity, it might take up till 2024 or even beyond to fulfill all the orders.
The pickup truck is a popular vehicle segment in the US, and the first set of electric pickups will definitely do well in sales as there has been a pent-up demand for the vehicles.
The Lightning is the electrified version of Ford’s best-selling F-150 ICE truck. Ford will sell the Lightning to both consumers and fleet operators.
Ford has been beaten to the market by Rivian, who began delivering its R1T to customers a few months ago. Ford will also compete with models like the Cybertruck from Tesla and Silverado EV from Chevy.
The GMC Hummer EV is also a truck, but the high price means it is not competing with Ford’s offering.
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