Motoring

Ford Just Addressed One of My Biggest Problems with the F-150 Lightning

06/05/2024

Ford’s F-150 Lightning took the market by storm (no pun intended) when it was first announced back in 2021. Intended initially to be a sub-$40,000 all-electric version of the most popular pickup truck in history, anticipation for the vehicle quickly reached a fever pitch with over 100,000 reservations placed within the first month of Ford’s announcement.

This video cannot be played because of a technical error.(Error Code: 102006)

But as the years and months went on, interest in the F-150 Lightning waned, most likely due to Ford’s price increases on the truck. By the spring of 2023, Ford had hiked the price of the F-150 Lightning four times, with the base-level Pro trim ticking up to just shy of $60,000, a 50 percent increase over the initial pricing announced just two years earlier. Decreased demand for the truck led Ford to halve its production plans for the Lightning heading into this year.

So if you’re one of the many F-150 Lightning fans whose been holding off on buying one until their astronomical prices come down, we finally have some good news for you.

The 2024 Ford F-150 Lightning Just Got Cheaper

Ford has reopened its order books for 2024, and most trims of the F-150 Lightning have received significant price cuts. The top-level Platinum trim remains unchanged at $84,995, respectively, but every other variant got more affordable.

The XLT, which now stands as the entry-level offering (Ford makes no mention of the previous base-level Pro trim on the truck’s current product page) now starts at $62,995, which is $2,000 cheaper than before. The Lariat, which slots just below the Platinum as a luxury offering, sees its price drop $2,500 from $79,495 to $76,995.

Then there’s the F-150 Lightning Flash, the mid-level offering that likely appeals to most people thanks to its mix of features like 10,000 lbs-towing capacity, extended 320-mile range and BlueCruise hands-free highway driving. It gets the biggest price reduction of all, dropping a full $5,500 to $67,995.

We’re still looking at a $60,000 barrier to entry and nearly $70k for the model that will appeal to most buyers, and this is admittedly a long way away from the $40,000 EV we were all promised three years ago. But it’s nice to see the F-150 Lightning prices falling for a change, and that trend will likely need to continue if the truck is ever going to become the hot seller it initially looked like.

Ford F-150 Lightning

Revealed in 2022, Ford’s first electric pickup takes the best-selling F-150 and simply turns it into an EV. It comes in several grades, from work truck to luxury vehicle, and offers a choice of two battery pack sizes.