Nick Schmidt with his wife after choosing a brand new electric F-150. Schmidt was the first buyer to own the F-150 Lightning as automakers are betting billions of dollars on an electric future.
Courtesy of Nick Schmidt
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Courtesy of Nick Schmidt
Nick Schmidt with his wife after choosing a brand new electric F-150. Schmidt was the first buyer to own the F-150 Lightning as automakers are betting billions of dollars on an electric future.
Courtesy of Nick Schmidt
Nick Schmidt was at home when he received the call he had been waiting for months.
Schmidt ordered the electric version of the Ford F-150 as soon as it was announced last May. And more than a year later, his F-150 Lightning is finally ready to be picked up.
“When the agent called me, they were just as excited as I was,” says Schmidt. “I remember I got to the parking lot, and everyone was gathered around. Everyone was out.”
It was a big moment for Schmidt, but possibly an even bigger moment for Ford. This isn’t just any F-150 Lightning – it’s the first to be delivered to a real buyer.
Ford and other legacy American automakers are investing billions of dollars in electric vehicle development in a frenzied plunge to catch up with Tesla, the market leader. 70% New electric vehicles were registered in the US last year.
Not only is the F-150 Lightning a key part of Ford’s ambitions, it also poses an early test of whether established automakers like General Motors can compete in that electric future. .
And judging by Schmidt’s initial response, the Ford F-150 could have done a great job, even if there were challenges.
What is it like to drive an F-150?
When Schmidt first climbed aboard his new F-150 Lightning, he felt immediately familiar: It looked and felt similar to his gas-powered F-150.
“It was exactly what I wanted, just a Ford pickup truck,” said Schmidt.
Schmidt is no newbie to pickup trucks — he lives on a family farm in Standish, Michigan, a town of about 1,500 residents.
His family owns all kinds of pickup trucks – Ford F-150s, 250s, Chevys.
Schmidt and his wife pose with their new F-150 Lightning.
Courtesy of Nick Schmidt
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Courtesy of Nick Schmidt
Schmidt and his wife pose with their new F-150 Lightning.
Courtesy of Nick Schmidt
Schmidt, however, was all too familiar with electric cars. He works in clean energy and already owns a Tesla, but he’s been waiting for an electric truck to replace his beloved gas-powered F-150.
He says that the Lightning is just as powerful and reliable as his regular F-150. He used it to transport soil and wood around, as well as pull his Airstream.
And Schmidt says the acceleration is unlike anything he’s ever experienced in a truck.
“It’s fast,” he said. “I mean, for a full-size, full-size pickup truck, in my opinion, it’s going to go 0 to 60 in 4.2 seconds or something, this has never happened.”
Cut off at Tesla
Delivering a powerful F-150 that feels familiar is integral to Ford’s strategy in the race for Tesla.
Sam Abuelsamid at Guidehouse Insights says automakers are spending nearly $200 billion over the next five years on electric vehicles alone. And the focus going forward is on the electrification of their most popular models.
“There’s a lot of money at stake. And if they’re going to build millions of electric vehicles now and try to move the entire industry to electric, they have to have a product that people really want to buy.”
An electric Silverado is on display at the New York International Auto Show in New York City on April 15. Legacy automakers are electrifying some of their most popular models.
Image of Michael M. Santiago / Getty
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An electric Silverado is on display at the New York International Auto Show in New York City on April 15. Legacy automakers are electrifying some of their most popular models.
Image of Michael M. Santiago / Getty
In the US, that means pickup trucks and SUVs.
For Ford, the electrification of the F-150 makes sense. After all, trucks have been America’s best-selling vehicles for decades.
Others are also turning to their most popular models. GM will launch an electric Silverado next year. Electric Ram truck. GM and Ford are working on electric versions of the Equinox and Explorer.
Early bookings for Lightning were promised. Initially, the company planned to produce about 40,000 Lightnings, but the truck was so popular that Ford stopped taking pre-orders after receiving 200,000.
Electrical learning curve
However, there are still many challenges for automakers.
Schmidt ran into a major problem shortly after purchasing his F-150 Lightning, one that is already familiar to other electric vehicle owners: charging.
The clean energy worker took his F-150 Lightning on a camping trip with his wife and daughter the first weekend by truck, and he found he couldn’t find a charger.
“It was not a great experience at all,” said Schmidt. “We’re trying to figure out what that means for camping trips because I’m not sure I’d feel comfortable going due to the lack of infrastructure there.”
The United States has yet to develop extensive public charging infrastructure, a problem the Biden administration is trying to solve by spending $5 billion to build. National network of high-speed chargers.
Vice President Kamala Harris tolls an electric vehicle in Brandywine, Md., on December 13, 2021. The Biden administration plans to build a network of chargers across the country.
Chip Somodevilla / Getty
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Vice President Kamala Harris tolls an electric vehicle in Brandywine, Md., on December 13, 2021. The Biden administration plans to build a network of chargers across the country.
Chip Somodevilla / Getty
Automakers face other problems
And there are more problems for automakers.
With gas prices at record highs, Americans are demanding electric cars. The problem is that automakers don’t have them as the auto industry continues to be affected by shortages of key products like microchips.
And even if you can own an electric car, they’re still expensive. The average transaction price for a new electric vehicle is around $60,000, according to the automotive data company Edmunds.
The F-150 Lightning starts at around $40,000, but that’s for the base model, and prices quickly climb with traditional pickup features. Schmidt paid about one hundred thousand dollars for his.
There are promising signs. Notably, the majority of F-150 Lightning pre-orders are from new Ford customers who haven’t owned an F-150 before.
However, sales of electric vehicles still account for only 4.6% of total sales in the country.
Even Schmidt, who has become a fan of the F-150 Lightning, is skeptical about the widespread adoption of electric vehicles by Americans.
Schmidt thought about his family on the ranch, and he still hadn’t seen them fly the flashy F-150.
“I’m still waiting for that moment, you know, my aunt Jean walks down the street in an EV, and she loves it, and it’s just something she’s comfortable buying. “
And if legacy automakers step into an electric future, it’s the jeans of the world they’ll need to really take off.
