Firm’s Owner Gets Quite A Charge From His Ford F-150 Lightnings

If you owned an electric scooter business in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia, what type of vehicle would you use to service them? It’s natural if you support Ford’s Blue Oval. Why would you use any other vehicle than a Ford F-150 Lightning?

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That is the story of Max Rastelli, who runs HFX e-scooters in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It’s a business he started in 2019, extending his commitment to alternative mobility solutions to the city.
 

A longtime Ford F-150 owner, Rastelli was excited when Ford introduced its electric F-150 Lightning in 2021 and immediately placed a deposit. Rastelli had always been interested in owning an EV, but he needed it to be a truck that could support his business and lifestyle.

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Rastelli took delivery of his F-150 Lightning in October 2022, excited to show Halifax residents that not only were his scooters electric, but his truck was also.  What started to showcase electric mobility quickly became a business accelerator.

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When he opened HFX e-Scooters, Rastelli hauled scooters to a central hub in Halifax to charge them. This meant he did a lot of driving, and, of course, there was a lot of downtime.

Situation Changes With Second Lightning

That changed in 2021 when he introduced swappable, rechargeable batteries for his e-Scooters. This helped to eliminate some of the downtime, though the batteries still needed to be charged daily at the central hub, which did not have enough power to charge all the batteries simultaneously.

But, with the Lightning and its available 9.6kW of exportable power onboard, he quickly realized he could charge multiple batteries at the same time right from his new truck while he drove.

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This also meant that his business was no longer tied to the central charging hub, and he could keep the batteries charging with little or no downtime for more efficient battery swaps for his scooters.

Lightning Improves Productivity

The Lightning improved his productivity to the point that he bought a second truck in June.

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“It became immediately clear to me that the F-150 Lightning could boost my business productivity as a mobile battery charging station through the use of Pro Power Onboard. Thanks in part to these trucks, I’ve been able to double the number of e-Scooters in my fleet, with near=zero downtime related to charging, making my business twice as efficient. And, it doesn't hurt that this truck is a lot of fun to drive, with its low center of gravity and smooth ride,” he said enthusiastically.

Marc Stern has been an automotive writer since 1971. His automotive articles have appeared in venues including Popular Mechanics, Mechanix Illustrated, AutoWeek, SuperStock, Trailer Life, Old Cars Weekly, Special Interest Autos, and others. You can follow Marc on Twitter or Facebook.