On April 26th, Ford will conduct the official launch of the F-150 Lightning though we’re still trying to determine what exactly they mean by that. Regardless of whether it’s the beginning of production or deliveries themselves, it’s a landmark day for the brand and the F-150 itself.
Ford CEO Jim Farley made the announcement himself on Twitter with a simple statement, “It’s time.” He also posted a link to a Ford F-150 Lightning countdown page that will culminate at 1:30 pm Eastern on the 26th of April. So far, Ford has confirmed that production would begin in the spring of 2022 but never really nailed down that date.
Additionally, they’ve said that in the same time period all Electric Vehicle Certified dealers would be receiving a single 2022 model year demo Lightning to show customers. With that in mind, it would stand to reason that even if it’s just production that’s starting on the 26th, customers won’t have to wait long to ride the Lightning.
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⚡️ It’s time. #F150Lightning⚡️
4.26.2022https://t.co/VQTmeyixLt pic.twitter.com/yHFob7vOyK
— Jim Farley (@jimfarley98) April 13, 2022
If you’ve already ordered a 2022 F-150 Lightning, Ford says you should get it before the year is out as they plan to complete the entire model year worth of production by late spring. Then, in the fall of this year, they’ll begin production of the 2023 model year trucks. Sometime between each event the company will open up orders again. That day probably can’t come soon enough for a number of customers who missed out on the Lightning after Ford closed the reservation process in early December of last year.
Ford should have no problem out-producing rival Rivian in terms of total units throughout the year despite making it to production after the EV startup. Either way, Ford is way ahead of competitors like Chevrolet who at best won’t have the Silverado EV into the hands of customers before 2024, and RAM who has a similar forecast on the launch of its electrified pickup.
Of course, Tesla is supposed to show up sometime in between these dates with the Cybertruck but after seeing the one at the Cyber Rodeo, we think it needs quite a bit of work if it’s to enter production in 2023, as promised.