Well, that didn’t take long. What was once an incredible price for a new F-150 Lightning Pro EV truck at $39,974 MSRP in 2021 has now ballooned to nearly $59,500. That’s a price increase of more than 35 percent. Sure, it’s a bit of a stripper, being more for commercial buyers. But it was still a great value, priced just below a base F-150 crew cab. Now, there are 20 thousand more.
Didn’t Ford just raise Lightning prices?
This is the third time Ford has increased the price of Lightning trucks. Yes, prices for everything have gone up pretty fast, but not that fast. The first price jump was in August when it increased by $6,000. The second increase occurred in October.
And the Pro only comes with the standard battery with a 240-mile range. For the larger battery pack that offers 320 miles of range, you should order the XLT. This will cost you over $83,000. That is, however, another setback if you buy a Lightning.
And if you decide to go gangbuster and order the top-of-the-line Lariat package, you’ll pay nearly $100,000, according to electric. That’s inching into GMC Hummer territory with the Edition 1 price tag of $110,000. Is an electric van really worth it?
Does the new Lightning price reflect what buyers are paying?
Now, we’re reminded of that long-ago chant from EV manufacturers that electric cars would be cheaper than gas-powered vehicles because they’re cheaper to make. Where did that go? Looking at price increases from Tesla and other manufacturers, they are all capitalizing on unexpected demand for electric vehicles.
We’re assuming you’re looking at what buyers are willing to pay on top of MSRP, and the numbers that drive Lightning’s price up is what they’re paying for anyway. This way, Ford keeps the extra money instead of passing that difference on to its dealers. We understand, but it doesn’t feel very good.
As a reminder, the Lightning Pro starts at $59,474. Next up is the Lariat, which went from an MSRP of $67,474 to $74,474, the XLT increased to $81,000, and the Platinum, from $90,874 to $96,874. So far in 2022, Ford has sold 13,258 Lightning trucks. That’s not a huge amount, which might explain why demand is still very high.
Ford just can’t make enough of them.
Earlier this week, Ford announced that it would be adding a third shift to Lightning’s Detroit assembly plant. And just based on how production needs to ramp up for a new model, Ford should see more production overall, even without the third shift.
But calls to increase sales of electric vehicles in the United States have suffered a setback with this increase announced by Ford. Buyers have said they want affordable electric vehicles, not $110,000 GMC Hummers. Or, $97,000 Ford Lightning.