Ford Reopens Order Books For Lightning EV Pickups As Production Ramps And Prices Rise

The acceptance of the electric Ford F-150 Lightning pickup has been a little short of amazing in the two years it has been offered for retail sale or as vehicles that can be ordered. Indeed, when Ford opened its reservation desk for future F-150 orders, the number of reservations quickly overwhelmed the automaker. More than 100,000 reservations were placed when the reservation banks opened two years ago, and Ford quickly had to close things down. When Ford reopened its order banks last year, the same thing happened. Ford had taken in more than 100,000 reservations in over a week. The automaker had to limit reservations again.

Reservations, Orders Not Exactly The Same

It may seem that reservations and orders are the same, but they are not. Ford opened reservations for F-150 Lightnings so customers could put their placeholders out there. Ultimately, if customers were willing to wait, those placeholders could be turned into real orders. As reservations, potential customers had to pay $100 to hold their spots. Customers had to pay $1,000 or more when turning those placeholders into orders. Like 2021, last year’s reservation banks were closed in about a week as they again were overwhelmed with reservations. The interesting thing is that people were willing to wait. Two years ago, when the reservation banks were opened to orders, they quickly ran the table with people placing down large deposits to hold their vehicles. Indeed, many of the 2021 orders are only now being filled, with many of last year’s reservations/orders waiting until either late this year or early next year to be fulfilled.

The reservation banks were opened this week to the next group of potential Lightning customers. Electrek.com discussed this news as the automaker ramps up production of the electric pickup at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Michigan. At the same time as reservations have been reopened, the automaker has also increased MSRPs across multiple trims. Electrek.com notes that the automaker “continues to bolster its EV production infrastructure to try and keep up with the tremendous demand for its F-150 Lightning pickup, which remains sold out for many prospective buyers.”

The Lectron 48-amp system can handle the F-150 Lightning

Meanwhile, as Electrek.com notes, “patient Lightning reservation holders who were due for delivery have had to wait a bit longer this year after Ford discovered a potential battery issue in mid-February that necessitated a ‘stop shipment’ on all orders and halt to production in Dearborn.” Ford quickly found the issue, and, as it worked to amend the problem, “it was simultaneously announcing plans to triple Lightning production and double Mach-E production this year.” Also, Ford notes that its Lightning will have features that won't be offered on Tesla's Cybertruck. On another note, Ford will sell the Mustang Mach-E in Australia, putting it into 39 markets.

Reservations, Production Back On Track

Moving back to the Lightning, Ford had announced that its production would resume as early as the middle of March and that “new orders would follow.” A Ford spokesperson confirmed that reservations are now open, and production is on track. Meantime, Ford's newest BlueOval campus will offer its new electric pickup model at its new BlueOval campus.

Meanwhile, even as the spokesperson has confirmed that things are moving ahead, customers who have locked down the reservations into orders may find the price for their all-electric pickup higher than when they made their initial reservations. Pricing for the Lariat Standard pickup has moved from $74,474 to $75,974. The Platinum trim level will jump to $98,074. The increase is “in response to current material costs, market factors, and supply chain constraints.

Electrek.com notes that the “news is merely the latest price hike for the F-150 Lightning, as ford tries to transition into an all-electric company, bolster eV production, and navigate a finicky supply chain environment.” Last year, in August, Ford announced that the price of all models would be up by $6,000 to $8,000. Later in the year, Ford announced a second round of price hikes that would boost the base price of the Lightning to $52,000. The third round of price hikes in December added another $5,000.

Commercial Orders Also Affected

“We’ve recently learned that these price increases will also affect commercial orders. The MSRP of the F-150 Lightning Pro is being increased from $55,974 to $59,974. That 2023 model year remains sold out for retail customers.” Looking to the future, Ford is “aiming to reach an annual output of 150,000 EVs at its Rouge facility by this fall.” Meantime, the automaker plans to open retail orders for the Lightning “for the first time in late spring.”

Marc Stern has been an automotive writer since 1971 when an otherwise normal news editor said, "You're our new car editor," and dumped about 27 pounds of auto stuff on my desk. I was in heaven as I have been a gearhead from my early days. As a teen, I spent many misspent hours hanging out at gas stations (a big thing in my youth) and working on cars. From there on, it was a straight line to my first column for the paper "You Auto Know," an enterprise I handled faithfully for 32 years. Not many people know that I also handled computer documentation for most of my earnings while writing YAN. My best writing, though, was always in cars. My work has appeared in Popular Mechanics, Mechanix Illustrated, AutoWeek, SuperStock, Trailer Life, Old Cars Weekly, Special Interest Autos, etc. You can follow me on: Twitter or Facebook.