You’re not alone if you’re still waiting for your Ford F-150 Lightning order. Unfortunately, Ford continues to struggle with surprisingly high demand. The Ford F-150 Lightning suddenly took off with a flurry of damn major issues that caused delays.
What is causing delays on Ford F-150 Lightning?
Multiple supply chain issues have been plaguing the Ford F-150 Lightning. According to automatic blogging, Ford ran out of blue oval badges. In September deliveries were halted until the official badges could be added.
Other shortages in the auto industry include hardtop materials, seat cushions and tires. But nothing hit the F-150 Lightning quite like the current shortage of semiconductor chips. Ford prioritized the existing supply of chips for electric vehicles, but they are still coming up short.
Also, supply chain constraints have made things more expensive. Precious metals for battery packs are becoming more difficult to obtain. The price of the Ford F-150 Lightning Pro recently went up $5,000 and that was the second price increase of the year.
How long does the F-150 Lightning wait?
If you’re lucky, your Ford F-150 Lightning order will be complete in about four to six months. But in reality, you could be waiting for years.
There is currently a backlog of orders that could take three to four years to complete. It’s disappointing that some F-150 Lightning reservation holders won’t receive their trucks until 2024.
After receiving more orders than expected, the order book closed last December. Ford received 200,000 reservations at a rapid pace. The order books may not reopen until the summer of 2023, so Ford can catch up with the massive backlog.
Initially, Ford planned to build 55,000 units in 2022 and increase production to 80,000 trucks in 2023. Perhaps Ford could produce 160,000 trucks by 2025. However, that is when the second-generation lighting is scheduled to debut.
This timeline is too slow, so Ford is making changes. According to Auto Blog, Ford is building a new factory next to the existing F-150 Lightning plant to increase production. The structure is being torn from its walls to be completely remodeled.
It is currently unclear when the new F-150 Lightning will be operational. But in the meantime, Ford is working to double its current production to 150,000 Ford Lightning models a year. This would certainly put a dent in the waiting time.
Is the F-150 Lightning worth the wait?
Waiting for the Ford F-150 Lightning could have its advantages. We have been behind the wheel and enjoyed the quick acceleration. The extended range model can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in about 4.0 seconds. Also, the brakes are firm and safe.
It has a comfortable ride on pavement, a totally quiet interior, plenty of passenger space, and unique technological features. We liked to doodle on the infotainment system and play games.
However, we never achieved fast charging speeds, we lost a considerable amount of charge when towing a light load, and the Lightning 2022 felt a bit heavy. It has a wide and inconvenient turning radius.
Perhaps by 2023 or 2024, the charging issues and towing issues will be fixed. But the Rivian R1T and GMC Hummer EV are attractive rivals.
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