Update to the Ford EV Roadmap. No impact to Mustang Mach-E

[GreaseMonkey]

For Ford the point is to sell cars. The Lightning as it is doesn't appeal to may buyers. The market for a BEV truck is tiny. If we look at market data most buy a truck for it capabilities things like hauling heavy loads or pulling a trailer. Admittedly even if they only do it a few times a year. These things the lightning can do but at a huge cost to range this is simply a compromise most people buying a truck won't accept.

If you want to sell these in F150 kind of quantity then the Lightning should have always been a PHEV, IMHO

Brian, I think Ford's Lightning design was compromised:

1. Not purpose-built as an EV and, therefore, doesn't look distinctive enough
2. Too small of a battery in comparison to others and, therefore, not a great range
3. Too expensive, given #1 and 2

I don't have the stats and I don't know if GM is / will be more successful with the Silverado and Sierra, given they solved #1 and 2. I suspect not. #3 is helpless, because very few people can afford the price point.

The whole thing is like trying to sell ice cream in the middle of a blizzard to people on a diet.

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[MachE1977]

What about the Lightning is antique when compared to the Mach e? I have never been in a Lightning but from pictures it appears the infotainment is nearly identical and the IPC looks to be very similar.

The interior layout/design, the many more buttons, the shifter, the materials inside. The most obvious for the 22 is Blue Cruise. Of course is not fair to compare a 1.5 BC to 1.4.

The one thing the Lightning has that I wish the Mach E had was the ability to customize the instrument cluster with information I want there. Mind you I am comparing a Mach-E select to the ER Lariat I had. I understand why Ford made those choices as truck buyers are finicky. But the Silverado seems more appropriate as an EV Truck, except the bed.

Little things Ford needs to offer like the ability to purchase the upgraded modules to be able to run 1.5. But then again that keeps people from purchasing new vehicles.

Here she is, she was beautiful

 

[rhieb]

I read that the (still upcoming) RAM EREV will have a lousy 69kWh battery pack, only 145 miles of electric range, and will only get 20MPG when running on generator power. I hope Ford doesn't go with those kind of specs.

We’ve driven our 2017 Volt for 112k miles. It’s a good use case for understanding range extending.

The Volt 14kwh battery offering 50ish miles of range has provided about 75% of our miles. So if you triple that to 145miles of ev range, you will have more than enough for most EV only driving (if you bother to charge at night).

The ICE and 8 gallons of gas you’re toting around is just a range anxiety fidget spinner. Humans pack their fears. But it’s handy when there’s no DCFc, you’re towing, or sub-zero weather.

 

[dan_meh]

This made me chuckle… And it’s why I bought the extended range battery even though, i now realize, the standard would have worked for me.

The ICE and 8 gallons of gas you’re toting around is just a range anxiety fidget spinner. Humans pack their fears.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

Hey, at least they're listening to their customers now. Not like the ten year run of intentional feigned ignorance about this historically bad (and dangerous) POS:

Interesting thing about the Pinto, JP. People like to remember Lee Iacocca as the savior of Chrysler and the father of Mustang. The latter being one of the greatest vehicle launches in history. As President of Ford, though, he was responsible for the Pinto, ignored real documented concerns about the design, ruined the careers of people who had the audacity to point out the issues, and locked in the design by ordering the tooling before the normal testing process was done and continued on that path despite well documented problems.

Lee Iacocca changed Ford’s culture for the worse in the Pinto era. While I blame Mr. Farley for the dishonesty in calling this horse dung sandwich a step forward in Ford’s EV journey, he’s not close to Iacocca in that regard. He still needs to go though.

 

[RickMachE]

Which is just stupid to buy a vehicle that generally cost more, and cost more to operate because maybe you might one day sorta put something in the back vs renting from a hardware store. (Also utility vans perform better for many “I need a work truck” tasks….)

But we have no lack of people being stupid.

This is disappointing and part of the reason I went through with my buyback on my 22 Lightning. I am now a new Mach-E owner and am really disappointed that Ford hasn't merged the best of both these vehicles into a smaller Truck.

The problem with the Lightning is range, price and antique tech. I am actually amazed on how much more modern the Mach-E is compared to the Lightning. Ford needs to keep pushing forward with EV's, not necessarily in the Full-Size Truck Market but offer other EV's like the focus, Maverick and maybe ranger. The small Kei pickups are coming and Ford needs to get on this now.

Also, I am happy at the Progress Ford has made with Ford Pass, the last time I used it was back in July 2025. It is much more up to date now.

The interior layout/design, the many more buttons, the shifter, the materials inside. The most obvious for the 22 is Blue Cruise. Of course is not fair to compare a 1.5 BC to 1.4.

The one thing the Lightning has that I wish the Mach E had was the ability to customize the instrument cluster with information I want there. Mind you I am comparing a Mach-E select to the ER Lariat I had. I understand why Ford made those choices as truck buyers are finicky. But the Silverado seems more appropriate as an EV Truck, except the bed.

Little things Ford needs to offer like the ability to purchase the upgraded modules to be able to run 1.5. But then again that keeps people from purchasing new vehicles.

Here she is, she was beautiful

The interior of the Lightning was designed so that F-150 buyers felt comfortable AND so that they could use the same components as much as possible.

As to BlueCruise, my 2022 Mach-E has 1.3. My 2022 Lightning has 1.4. Isn't that the opposite of what you are saying.

You have to remember that each vehicle served a main purpose - beating everyone else to market. The Mach-E stole components from other vehicles, I remember Donna talking about how it had 4 pumps and could have had 2 or something. The Lightning stole F-150 components of course. Beat GM to market by a significant amount of time, then squandered that headstart with a really poor 2022 production volume, then long shutdowns, and of course the pricing. I'd love to see the stats of the conversion rate of the Lightning reservation list, which numbered around 200,000. I'll bet it wasn't 20%.

I would hope that Ford isn't stupid and continues to update the Lightning software in line with the Mach-E, i.e. if an update to the Mach-E can be made to the Lightning it should be done. Yeah, never mind, they probably will stop by mid-2026.

 

[music_cities]

Bmw iX3 is looking like a great 2022 Mach E GTPE replacement for me. Huge tech uplift while maintaining hands free highway. Much improved range and charging speed too. Looks are subjective, but they work for me too.

I'm renting a Polestar 2 in Germany in summer 2026 for a few weeks. I have high hopes. I agree the BMW looks tempting too. I would really like a Porsche Taycan but it's not as practical and it's a lot of money.

I'm looking forward to what Ford pulls out of its Universal EV platform. But Ford is primarily a truck company, not a car company, so I'm not expecting any new CUV or car anytime soon. I'll probably keep the 2022 MachE until at least 2041, so I could (possibly) just be patient.

I had a 1979 Ford Fairmont when I was was a teenager and it was such a terrible car compared to my then-girlfriend's (now wife's) Toyota Tercel that we swore off Ford for almost 40 years. But the MachE is on par with any Toyota we've owned, and much better than the Dodge Caravan we had in the little-kid years.

 

[darkastor]

Brian, I think Ford's Lightning design was compromised:

1. Not purpose-built as an EV and, therefore, doesn't look distinctive enough
2. Too small of a battery in comparison to others and, therefore, not a great range
3. Too expensive, given #1 and 2

I don't have the stats and I don't know if GM is / will be more successful with the Silverado and Sierra, given they solved #1 and 2. I suspect not. #3 is helpless, because very few people can afford the price point.

The whole thing is like trying to sell ice cream in the middle of a blizzard to people on a diet.

You bring up a lot of great points but I think the fact that it was still very similar to the ICE F150 made it more appealing as you already had a great aftermarket parts and familiarity to it. You look at Rivian/Cybertruck/GM and they all need specific aftermarket parts to be compatible.

I think we can all beat it up over range and charging inefficiencies but if you pull out the paper it really was not all that bad. Until the max pack Rivians and Max range GM trucks the majority were still around a 150 kWh battery. I would love to see a comparison of efficiency of the Silverado/Sierra to the Lightning because for a non-purpose built EV the Lightning had great efficiency. You have almost double the kWh in the the GM trucks with perhaps about 150 more miles of range. I really think the standard range Lightning should have been around 280-300 miles of range and the extended 350-400 but I imagine they tried to save on costs and that meant smaller batteries. We should applaud them for shaving off close to 10 minutes on the 10-80% charging curve though (perhaps they can get the Mach-E closer to 30 minutes also).

The software was acceptable pre-2024 and they are getting leaped left and right by everyone now. It would be great if they would look into Carplay Ultra as everyone has bought into android automotive including some of the newer Fords.

The price is a funny thing, if we look pre-2024 - yes it was overpriced by 10-15K per vehicle one could argue but they did give out some crazy incentives with the existing tax benefits also. After the Rivians/Cybertruck/GM trucks hit the market I'd argue the Lightning was actually a better value in some ways with total features and range/charging. They are a crazy value on the used market.

 

[matwlev]

@Ford Motor Company any insight into how much longer the F-150 Lightning will receive OTAs? Will this announcement have any impact on MME OTAs?

 

[ChasingCoral]

The problem with the Lightning is range, price and antique tech. I am actually amazed on how much more modern the Mach-E is compared to the Lightning.

I own both and disagree. While there are some thing the Mach E has that are more "modern", there are others in which the Lightning is more advanced.

The Lightning is a truck and it is built for a truck buyer.

 

[cj_Jr]

We all know EVs are the future. Ford knows, too. They are positioning this in the press as an "end to EV production" to appeal to the current occupant of the White House bathroom. Pathetic.

 

[Jimrpa]

Interesting thing about the Pinto, JP. People like to remember Lee Iacocca as the savior of Chrysler and the father of Mustang. The latter being one of the greatest vehicle launches in history. As President of Ford, though, he was responsible for the Pinto, ignored real documented concerns about the design, ruined the careers of people who had the audacity to point out the issues, and locked in the design by ordering the tooling before the normal testing process was done and continued on that path despite well documented problems.

Lee Iacocca changed Ford’s culture for the worse in the Pinto era. While I blame Mr. Farley for the dishonesty in calling this horse dung sandwich a step forward in Ford’s EV journey, he’s not close to Iacocca in that regard. He still needs to go though.

Oh, Hank the Deuce had a hand in some of those decisions as well. In that era, no big decisions were made that did not have the personal scrutiny and approval of someone named “Ford”.

 

[Stephen Munro]

Hi Mustang Mach-E owners,

You may see headlines today, or perhaps you’ve been lurking over in the F-150 Lightning forum where the news just went live. I’m coming to you today to share an update on our product roadmap.

There is a lot of news flying around, so I want to give you the facts straight from Ford, explain what is changing for our electric trucks. There is no impact to Mustang Mach-E. Mustang Mach-E is a great success story and is now available in almost 60 markets across the globe. It continues to be a standout electric SUV and plays an important role in the Ford portfolio.

The News: A Shift for F-150 Lightning​

With the F-150 Lightning, we proved an electric truck could be a hit, and it has remained the best-selling electric pickup. Let’s be real about what we’ve learned from you, the owners, and the market over the last few years. You love the electric performance, smoothness, and the tech, but for those that drive long distances, take frequent trips or tow heavy loads across state lines often, an F-150 Lightning might not be the truck for them. And we want it to be.

To solve that, we are shifting the next-generation F-150 Lightning to an Extended-Range Electric Vehicle (EREV) architecture. For those who aren’t familiar with EREVs, this isn't a traditional plug-in hybrid. This is an electric vehicle with an on-board generator. It’s designed to give you the electric capability you enjoy around town, but with range and towing confidence. It will be assembled right here in Dearborn at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center.

To be transparent, that means that we will end production of the current generation F-150 Lightning at the end of this year. We will prioritize multi-energy powertrains for our large SUVs, trucks and vans, and have also made the decision to no longer produce the next-generation full-size electric truck, also known as “T3”.

"Okay Brian, but what about my Mustang Mach-E?"​

I know seeing "production ending" for the Lightning might cause some swirl here. I want to be clear: This strategic shift is specific to F-150 Lightning and “T3” truck. The Mustang Mach-E continues to be a successful product for Ford, competing to attract new customers to the brand in the growing two-row electric SUV segment. Mach-E also has the highest conquest / loyalty rate in the Ford showroom. We know that for this segment (performance SUVs, commuters, and daily drivers) pure battery electric is fantastic.

At the same time, we are still investing in pure EVs. We are doubling down on the technology that powers them, including multi-energy powertrains.

• The Universal EV Platform: We are deep in development of our new Universal EV Platform (UEV) platform. This flexible architecture will underpin a new family of smaller, more affordable, and cost-efficient vehicles—starting with a midsize pickup in 2027. We believe the future of the EV market is affordable, high-volume vehicles, and that is exactly what this platform is engineered for. The UEV platform is more important than ever for Ford.
• Battery Tech: We are repurposing our Kentucky plant for grid storage and focusing our Michigan plant on LFP cells (which many of you already have in your newer Mach-Es).

No one could have predicted how the EV landscape would change in the U.S., which has impacted the industry. We took a bet, produced amazing products that so many people love, and now we must make some hard decisions in response to evolving market realities, consumer preferences, and the regulatory environment. Regardless, we are so proud of the current F-150 Lightning.

For the BEV purists, I know the EREV truck news might be tough to hear. We have a huge opportunity to get more people driving electric – whether that be plug-in hybrid, extended-range electric or pure electric vehicles, and our plans set us up to succeed in this mission.

You can read the press release on this news here. I’ll be in the comments later to answer what I can.

Brian from Ford

The unstated reality is that the MME can't survive as a pure EV because it doesn't make money for Ford dealers, and therefore won't get their support without subsidies from Dearborn. Still, it fills an important role for Ford and its dealers as a suburban commuter/errand hauler with excellent build quality and performance. If Ford is to produce a "Gen 2" MME for that very important market segment, it too will have to be "EREV"ed to send drivers to dealers' service bays and give both retailers and Dearborn a path to profits.

 

[CarolinaMachEGT]

Ford pivoting to hybrids and dropping all-electric F-150, sees $20B in charges
https://www.axios.com/2025/12/15/fo...tm_campaign=newsletter_axioscloser&stream=top

 

[Tosh]

As an owner of a 21 Powerboost (which I am very happy with) the news of a future EREV F-150 option is interesting to me. If I ever need to replace my PB, the EREV version will be the firt thing I look at.

Yes, it's true I don't need a 1/2 ton truck as much now as I did when 4 years ago, but there are times when I REALLY need one. for the times when I don't need to us4 my truck, I have my MME.

It's surprising to me how much consternation this news has stirred up here. Might be interesting to read what they are saying on the Lightning forum ....

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