Ford Lightning News

Ford Motor has doubled its production target for the F-150 Lightning because of strong early demand for the full-sized electric pickup truck ahead of its 2022 launch and plans to spend an additional $850 million to meet that target, several people and suppliers familiar with the plans told Reuters. The No. 2 U.S. automaker is targeting annual production of more than 80,000 in 2024, up from its prior target of more than 40,000, according to the sources, who asked not to be identified. “They were pleasantly surprised by the demand for the Lightning,” one of the sources said of Ford officials. Continue reading @ CNBC

New factory video. Tom visit's Ford's Dearborn Rouge Electric Vehicle Center and gets to take a ride in the Ford F-150 Lightning. He also gets to check out the mega power frunk with Nancy Reppenhagen, responsible for overseeing the frunk development. He then talks about charging the F-150 Lightning and explains Ford's intelligent backup power system and what's needed to have that feature enabled.

DETROIT – Ford Motor’s upcoming F-150 Lightning electric pickup is already attracting potentially new customers to the automaker. The company on Wednesday said it has received more than 120,000 reservations for the vehicle since its debut in May. Of which, about 75%, or 90,000, are new to Ford, according to the company. While the reservations are non-binding and only require a $100 deposit, such a high percentage of potential new buyers is impressive for any vehicle as well as sales expectations. A big chunk of those reservations could end up as sales. Ford last month said it has converted about 66% of the 190,000 reservations for its recently launched Bronco SUV to orders. Ford still has a bit of catching up to do to catch up to...

Former Ford engineer Sandy Munro and his team went to Ford Dearborn Development Center to check out the all Electric 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning. He and his team came away impressed with the usual things, like the large frunk, the truck’s ability to power an entire home, interior workspace, and other utilitarian options. However his most notable mention was the isolated battery pack from the rest of the truck. Check out the full video below:

DETROIT — General Motors and its Cruise robo-taxi subsidiary have filed a lawsuit to stop Ford from using the name "BlueCruise" to market its hands-free driving technology, the companies said on Saturday. In a statement released shortly after midnight Detroit time, GM said Ford's use of the BlueCruise name infringed on GM's Super Cruise trademark, as well as Cruise's trademark. "While GM had hoped to resolve the trademark infringement matter with Ford amicably, we were left with no choice but to vigorously defend our brands and protect the equity our products and technology have earned over several years in the market," GM said in its statement. In the lawsuit, filed on Friday, GM said the automakers had held "protracted discussions"...

Electrify America is announcing the doubling of its charging network through 2025 with 10,000 chargers at 1,800 fast-charging stations in the US and Canada. While Electrify America was started through the EPA and CARB forcing Volkswagen to spend $2 billion on EV charging infrastructure in the US, the result is that Volkswagen now has the top fast-charging network open to all electric vehicles in the US. It was expected that the company would go beyond its required investment and keep developing its network, which could soon turn into a big business as more electric vehicles are being deployed in the US. Today, Electrify America is announcing what it calls its “Boost Plan,” which consists of a doubling of its charger deployment plan...

Ford released this Technical Specifications sheet when they announced the new 2022 F-150 Lightning, but it seems as though it might have been removed as quickly as it was added. Fortunately, we snagged a copy and you can find it below in photos and PDF form.

Ford has patented a removable range extender for an electric pickup that sits in the bed and resembles a toolbox. The Drive first spotted the patent, submitted in April 2018 and published on September 15, 2020. Its illustrations show a removable range extender that sits in the bed of a truck and looks like a toolbox. Inside the device would be a small motor, fuel tank, exhaust system, and electronics needed to hook it up to an electric truck. The abstract for the patent states: "This disclosure details electrified vehicles that are equipped with removable generators for increasing the electric range of the vehicles. An exemplary electrified vehicle includes a cargo space, such as a truck bed, and a generator removably positioned...