Legacy automaker Ford Motor Co.‘s F F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck Wednesday won a laurel and the company was quick to acknowledge it.
What Happened: The F-150 Lightning was the top-rated electric truck for 2024, said Edmunds, an online provider of vehicle data and information and car reviews. “For the second year in a row, the F-150 Lightning clinched the Edmunds Top Rated Electric Truck award because it’s an honest, hardworking pickup — one that just happens to be electric,” it said.
The F-150 Lightning can handle the toughest of truck stuff, and it provides scope for adding a majority of F-150 ICE counterpart’s useful options such as “custom-fit toolboxes, lockable in-cabin storage bins, and onboard scales,” Edmunds said. The reviewer also noted that the F-150 Lightning exceeded its EPA estimate in the EV Range rest it conducted.
The bigger-battery version traveled at an impressive 345 miles on a single charge, it added.
“The F-150 Lightning is appealing in the way a regular F-150 is: It’s easy to drive and comfortable, and it can be had with some cool features that enhance the type of things you’ll want to do with a truck. The Lightning wins for being less like an electric truck and more like a truck that just so happens to be electric,” said Brian Wong, Senior Editor at Edmunds.
Dearborn was quick to highlight the accolade it received for its vehicle.
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Why It’s Important: That Ford’s F-150 Lightning managed to retain its crown despite the launch of Tesla, Inc.’s TSLA Cyberturck is noteworthy. The Elon Musk-led company launched its version of the EV pickup truck in November 2023 after an inordinate delay. The company did not break down the Cybertruck numbers in its fourth-quarter deliveries report released earlier this month.
In the earnings call held late Wednesday, the Tesla management said, “The order numbers keep growing. So, we’re now all hands on deck, focused on ramping so we can, you know, fulfill all the demands and reduce the wait time.”
The reservation-to-order conversion rate, they said, is very encouraging.
Analysts, however, do not share the same enthusiasm as Tesla. They see the company achieving full production potential only by 2026 and see the vehicle contributing only marginally to growth.
Ford, meanwhile, has had its share of woes with its F-150 Lightning. The company said recently it will reduce the number of shifts at the “Rouge Electric Vehicle Center,” where it manufactured the F-150 Lightning, to one, beginning April 1.
Ford’s F-150 Lightning was the best seller in the category last year, as Dearborn sold 24,165 units of it.
Ford ended Wednesday’s session down 2.99% at $11.03, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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