Speaking in an interview with Automotive News, Ford CEO Jim Farly admitted that the company seriously underestimated the public demand for electric cars, which exceeded the most optimistic expectations, and was forced to begin working on a brand-new architecture best suited for battery trucks.
He stated that the demand for EVs proved two or three times greater than expected, urging Ford to double its EV production targets to 600,000 units by 2023. He stressed that more would be desirable, but impossible due to the ongoing supply chain disruptions.
When the F-150 Lightning (see gallery and video) hit the spotlight, Ford genuinely expected around 20,000 units sold annually. It ended up shoveling in 200,000 pre-order deposits before the production even began. If we were to assume that at least 80% of these pre-orders do not end up cancelled, delivering all the trucks would take the company several years of maxed-out production.
Having said this, the company’s first battery truck utilized the same underpinnings as the regular F-150. The new one, in contrast, will debut in three or four years based on a completely different, better platform that is already in development.
Production will take place at Blue Oval City factories in Kentucky and Tennessee, USA.