Ford’s next F-150 Lightning will have a gas generator as it pivots away from large EVs

Ford has announced that it will end production of the fully electric F-150 Lightning as part of a major companywide overhaul of its electric vehicle (EV) strategy. In place of the fully electric truck, Ford will offer a new version of the F-150 Lightning, an "extended range electric vehicle" (EREV), which will include a gas generator to recharge the battery, enabling the truck to travel over 700 miles on a single charge.

While the company did not disclose when the new version of the F-150 Lightning will be available for sale or its pricing, this pivot is expected to entail high costs for Ford. The company projects a $19.5 billion financial hit to reshape its EV business strategy, with $8.5 billion of that amount a write-down of its EV assets, to be recorded in the fourth quarter. Ford also plans to allocate $5.5 billion in cash charges through 2027.

As part of this restructuring, Ford will also cancel its plans for the next-generation all-electric truck, internally referred to as "T3". Originally, T3 was intended to be a clean-sheet design; it would have featured entirely electric vehicle technology rather than electric technology like the F-150 Lightning. Additionally, Ford is abandoning plans for the next-generation commercial van and will continue production of the E-Transit instead.

In a statement, Ford explained, "Ford no longer plans to produce select larger electric vehicles where the business case has eroded due to lower-than-expected demand, high costs, and regulatory changes."

Despite these setbacks, Ford remains on track to release a mid-sized all-electric pickup truck by 2027. The platform for this truck will be developed by a team led by former Tesla executives Doug Field and Alan Clarke. Ford also confirmed that it remains on track to begin production of more affordable lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries in 2026. These batteries will be manufactured at BlueOval Battery Park in Marshall, Michigan, using technology licensed from China's CATL to power the upcoming mid-sized truck. Ford's Ford's Ford's Ford's Ford's Ford's Ford's Ford's Ford'ssPresideFord'sdreww Frick highlthe company's new st ategy: "Rather than spending billions more on large EVs that now have no path to profitability, we are allocating that money into higher-returning areas, more trucks and van hybrids, extended-range electric vehicles, affordable EVs, and entirely new opportunities like energy storage."

The F-150 Lightning was first revealed in 2021, two years after Ford launched the all-electric Mustang Mach-E. The truck was initially priced at $40,000, intended as a flagship product for Ford's $22 billion push into electric vehicles. However, the base trim price of $40,000 was mainly targeted at fleet customers, and in practice, most buyers paid higher prices. Over the last two years, Ford has sold approximately 7,000 F-150 Lightnings per quarter, peaking at nearly 11,000 units in Q4 of 2024.

The F-150 Lightning and other large EVs have faced challenges in the U.S. Tesla's price has shifted amid U.S. political developments following Trump's reelection and Republican control of Congress, which have reversed Biden-era policies designed to boost EV adoption, further impacting the competitiveness of legacy automakers like Ford in the EV market.