Ford increasing price of electric F-150 Lightning

DETROIT – Ford Motor on Tuesday said it is increasing the starting prices of its electric F-150 Lightning pickup due to “significant material cost increases and other factors.”

The Detroit automaker said the price increases – between $6,000 and $8,500, depending on the model – will not impact customers who have ordered a vehicle and are awaiting delivery. They will impact an undisclosed amount of reservation holders who have not yet ordered a truck.

The starting prices for the 2023 F-150 Lightning will now range from about $47,000 to $97,000, up from roughly $40,000 to $92,000 for the 2022 model-year. Prices exclude taxes and shipping/delivery costs.

Ford is the latest automaker to increase pricing of its newest electric vehicle amid rising inflation and commodity costs. General Motors previously raised the price of its Hummer EV pickup by $6,250, while EV startups Rivian Automotive and Lucid raised the costs of their vehicles substantially more than that. Tesla also has raised pricing this year on its vehicles.

Raw material costs for electric vehicles more than doubled during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a recent report by consulting and research firm AlixPartners.

Ford’s pricing increases come ahead of the automaker reopening ordering on Thursday for F-150 Lightning. The company late last year announced it had closed orders for the vehicle after receiving more than 200,000 nonbinding reservations for the truck.

It’s unclear how long customers will have to wait for a new truck after they place an order. Ford has only sold about 4,400 vehicles since beginning deliveries in May. A spokeswoman for the company said deliveries of new orders are scheduled to begin this fall.

Starting this fall, Ford on Tuesday also said the electric range of F-150 Lightning models with a standard battery is expected to increase by 10 miles to 240 miles. Trucks with a larger battery have a range of up to 320 miles.