EREV F-150 Lightning to replace EV model [ADMIN WARNING: NO POLITICS]

[ryannix123]

This is disappointing news for me, and the majority of F-150 Lightning owners that don’t tow or need extreme range for road trips. A number of people want 100% electric and no gas ever.

Ideally Ford would offer a variety of powertrain options in the F-150 platform from full electric, to range extended, to hybrid, and full gas to meet everyone’s needs. The brilliance of the Lightning was sharing a very well established platform that many buyers were already familiar with. That made the decision to switch to EV easier for a lot of people.

Maybe a range-extended pickup would attract a new set of buyers, but if you want a full-size electric truck, that should remain an option. We also need the cheaper mass EVs for entry level buyers.

The whole EV experience just isn't ideal right now. It's only good when you have a Level 2 charger at your house and >99% of your trips are within a 100-mile radius of home.

I recently drove from the northwest suburbs of Chicago to downstate Illinois during a cold snap last week. And while the Apple Maps integration with the estimated EV charge is nice, once again, I was white-knuckling it to my destination because the battery estimate dropped precipitously as we got closer. Fortunately, we charged at a Ford dealership with a Level 3 charger that was 11 miles from our destination.

I now have nine different apps on my phone, and yes, I'm also using Blue Oval. We MME owners can only use our free adaptor to charge at Tesla stations that are version 3 compatible. The Level 3 chargers are bulky, heavy, and have inconsistent charging levels/times (e.g., I've seen 36 kW-per-hour vs. 70 kW-per-hour at different Blink stations).

EVs are just not for many people, especially not Ford's truck demographic.

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[4sallypat]

The whole EV experience just isn't ideal right now. It's only good when you have a Level 2 charger at your house and >99% of your trips are within a 100-mile radius of home.

I recently drove from the northwest suburbs of Chicago to downstate Illinois during a cold snap last week. And while the Apple Maps integration with the estimated EV charge is nice, once again, I was white-knuckling it to my destination because the battery estimate dropped precipitously as we got closer. Fortunately, we charged at a Ford dealership with a Level 3 charger that was 11 miles from our destination.

I now have nine different apps on my phone, and yes, I'm also using Blue Oval. We MME owners can only use our free adaptor to charge at Tesla stations that are version 3 compatible. The Level 3 chargers are bulky, heavy, and have inconsistent charging levels/times (e.g., I've seen 36 kW-per-hour vs. 70 kW-per-hour at different Blink stations).

EVs are just not for many people, especially not Ford's truck demographic.

Depends on where you live ?

I am in So Calif and never have an issue finding chargers.

Tesla app is the only charger network I use.

Even with $12.99/monthly subscription, Superchargers are way faster, reliable, and never have to wait to charge. Never going back to: EA, EVGo, Shell, CP, CircleK, 7-11....

Last month on a road trip I normally stop at a mega 76 Tesla supercharger in Arvin, CA but their power was down so I went a smaller 20 station SC and was amazed at 2 full time Tesla paid charge attendants directing Tesla and non Tesla EVs to charge stalls!

Traffic cones reserved for non Teslas - mine charging thanks to these Tesla employees....

 

[RickMachE]

The whole EV experience just isn't ideal right now. It's only good when you have a Level 2 charger at your house and >99% of your trips are within a 100-mile radius of home.

I recently drove from the northwest suburbs of Chicago to downstate Illinois during a cold snap last week. And while the Apple Maps integration with the estimated EV charge is nice, once again, I was white-knuckling it to my destination because the battery estimate dropped precipitously as we got closer. Fortunately, we charged at a Ford dealership with a Level 3 charger that was 11 miles from our destination.

I now have nine different apps on my phone, and yes, I'm also using Blue Oval. We MME owners can only use our free adaptor to charge at Tesla stations that are version 3 compatible. The Level 3 chargers are bulky, heavy, and have inconsistent charging levels/times (e.g., I've seen 36 kW-per-hour vs. 70 kW-per-hour at different Blink stations).

EVs are just not for many people, especially not Ford's truck demographic.

Not going to spend a lot of time on this, but Tesla SuperChargers are not "bulky, heavy" as compared to say Ford dealerships. GoogleMaps integrates just fine.

Have put 10s of thousands of miles on Mach-E and Lightning, driven through very cold temps, and wind, and desolate areas. White knuckles went away long ago.

 

[Sikkun]

Not going to spend a lot of time on this, but Tesla SuperChargers are not "bulky, heavy" as compared to say Ford dealerships. GoogleMaps integrates just fine.

Have put 10s of thousands of miles on Mach-E and Lightning, driven through very cold temps, and wind, and desolate areas. White knuckles went away long ago.

Drove 700 miles yesterday…heck even avoided Tesla. Ionna, FPL, Mercedes Binz…all easy and ABRP was accurate within half a percent.

I will say Apple Maps is consistently about 14% off when starting a route (it ticks up over time) for some reason.

 

[ryannix123]

Not going to spend a lot of time on this, but Tesla SuperChargers are not "bulky, heavy" as compared to say Ford dealerships. GoogleMaps integrates just fine.

Have put 10s of thousands of miles on Mach-E and Lightning, driven through very cold temps, and wind, and desolate areas. White knuckles went away long ago.

Yeah, not nearly as bulky, but the charging-station design makes it hard to get a spot.

Again, EVs can be a real pain for many people. I don't mind it too much because I charge at home, but I get why many people don't want the hassle.

 

[ryannix123]

Drove 700 miles yesterday…heck even avoided Tesla. Ionna, FPL, Mercedes Binz…all easy and ABRP was accurate within half a percent.

I will say Apple Maps is consistently about 14% off when starting a route (it ticks up over time) for some reason.

The estimate in Apple Maps matched the one on the Ford dashboard exactly. Too many variables to be 100% accurate: HVAC, wind resistance, temperature, car speed, etc.

 

[ryannix123]

Depends on where you live ?

I am in So Calif and never have an issue finding chargers.

Tesla app is the only charger network I use.

Even with $12.99/monthly subscription, Superchargers are way faster, reliable, and never have to wait to charge. Never going back to: EA, EVGo, Shell, CP, CircleK, 7-11....

Last month on a road trip I normally stop at a mega 76 Tesla supercharger in Arvin, CA but their power was down so I went a smaller 20 station SC and was amazed at 2 full time Tesla paid charge attendants directing Tesla and non Tesla EVs to charge stalls!

Traffic cones reserved for non Teslas - mine charging thanks to these Tesla employees....

Yep, EVs are great in warm weather environments. Definitely not for those of us who live in cold-weather climates.

 

[SMI]

Hyundai is going to mop the floor with Ford and if a future government cuts tariffs on the Chinese manufacturers, it’s game over.

our auto industry is so far behind and doing its best to fall further behind

But why? It's the same in Germany.

 

[slider162]

The whole EV experience just isn't ideal right now. It's only good when you have a Level 2 charger at your house and >99% of your trips are within a 100-mile radius of home.

I recently drove from the northwest suburbs of Chicago to downstate Illinois during a cold snap last week. And while the Apple Maps integration with the estimated EV charge is nice, once again, I was white-knuckling it to my destination because the battery estimate dropped precipitously as we got closer. Fortunately, we charged at a Ford dealership with a Level 3 charger that was 11 miles from our destination.

I now have nine different apps on my phone, and yes, I'm also using Blue Oval. We MME owners can only use our free adaptor to charge at Tesla stations that are version 3 compatible. The Level 3 chargers are bulky, heavy, and have inconsistent charging levels/times (e.g., I've seen 36 kW-per-hour vs. 70 kW-per-hour at different Blink stations).

EVs are just not for many people, especially not Ford's truck demographic.

And then Ford wants you to pay $8/month for the worlds worst navigation app and their connected services after they removed the useful charging app. Want to find a Tesla Supercharger and precondition your battery, good luck with that. Ford won't give us a precondition button because we aren't smart enough.

 

[ryannix123]

And then Ford wants you to pay $8/month for the worlds worst navigation app and their connected services after they removed the useful charging app. Want to find a Tesla Supercharger and precondition your battery, good luck with that. Ford won't give us a precondition button because we aren't smart enough.

EVs are software-defined cars that are tough to build. Check out Engineering Explained's video on his Lucid!

Ford has done a nice job thus far, but Tesla has a massive head start that's tough to beat. I don't agree with all of Tesla's design choices, like making just about everything software-controlled, no CarPlay/Android Auto, etc. Overall, their vehicle platform is solid.

 

[ChrisO]

Yep, EVs are great in warm weather environments. Definitely not for those of us who live in cold-weather climates.

Actually, I think it is more of the combination of cold and distance. There are several countries that have adopted EVs big time that are in very cold regions, but I don't think they have to deal with such distances and another thing is that their government is all in on EVs and as such they have much better infrastructure for EVs. BTW if you make the truck big enough, then it turns around again. EV semi-trucks are actually very viable. But for sure, different situations will make one vehicle the better choice.

But I tend to agree that there isn't much market for this kind of vehicle in the US currently (there is "some", but "not much"). You are talking a more expensive, complicated vehicle for what purpose? When all the incentives to go this way have been removed.

I find it sort of strange that people seem to be surprised by this. Let's face it, at least in the US, Ford is a "Truck company", and the CEO has said many times that big EVs were a mistake. Clearly the "trigger" for deciding to pull the plug was the fires in the aluminum factory. Given the choice between making an ICE truck and an EV truck there isn't any competition for Ford.

For my wife and I, it might never matter what Ford or anyone them do. We are both 68, and don't tend to drive that much in comparison to even the average driver. My wife's 2008 Mustang still looks and runs like new and doesn't really have that many miles on it. And asking her if she would ever replace it is a "dead stop, no". As for the Mach-E, one of the main reasons we switched between the 2024 and 2025 is because when we went to get the 2024 are choices were limited and we didn't get exactly what we wanted. With the 2025 we did. I see no reason other than an accident why we would ever replace either of these. People on here talk about how they can't even remember all the cars they have owned. I can count them on one hand.

 

[SonicBlue]

Yeah, it makes sense for certain use cases, but to cut back on the BEV and only do an EREV to account for a use-case many don't care about is short-sighted. Combined with cuts to their future EV programs (light truck, delivery van, and no sign of anything else electric coming Soon (TM)), I still think they're falling further and further behind the global manufacturers.

I’m gonna trust that Ford has a better read on consumer demand and their strategic plan to remain profitable than EV enthusiasts.

Nobody is making an EV truck that can tow without massive range loss. And nobody will. Not with current battery tech. An EV F-150 was a fool’s errand. Not just my opinion - the market’s opinion.

I also don’t think the politics of this are gonna change markedly even after the Dems regain control. Polling indicates that “climate change” barely registers as a concern anymore - and this trend seems to be bearing out globally - and even some Dems seem embarrassed how much of a boondoggle things like the “Green New Deal” and CAFE standards were.

I think Ford had a decent read on the prevailing winds… until the tech significantly improves. I’m glad Ford is adapting.

 

[ChrisO]

I’m gonna trust that Ford has a better read on consumer demand and their strategic plan to remain profitable than EV enthusiasts.

Nobody is making an EV truck that can tow without massive range loss. And nobody will. Not with current battery tech. An EV F-150 was a fool’s errand. Not just my opinion - the market’s opinion.

To me the question really isn't whether killing off the Lighting was "wrong". Given the market, it probably was the right choice. The real question is if the answer is what they are proposing instead. I just don't see how that competes with a regular ICE car in this environment.

And I fully expect that the American car companies in the long run will lose more market share. Just like they did when the embargo hit.

I also expect it to be a slow process.

 

[SonicBlue]

To me the question really isn't whether killing off the Lighting was "wrong". Given the market, it probably was the right choice. The real question is if the answer is what they are proposing instead. I just don't see how that competes with a regular ICE car in this environment.

Hmmm… if I was in the market for a truck, I would absolutely consider a hybrid. Would depend on the break even analysis, but I suspect it might be less than five years?

 

[ChrisO]

Hmmm… if I was in the market for a truck, I would absolutely consider a hybrid. Would depend on the break even analysis, but I suspect it might be less than five years?

They already have hybrids; the real question is for this kind of hybrid.

And the thing to understand is there is a market for the Lightening, it is all about the size of that market. Will this new kind of hybrid get them the market they want? Will it just move people from their ICE cars to this one and not make them any more money, maybe even lose on it? Will it actually get new customers???

Those are the real questions.

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