Ford EV Plans Seem to Ignore Why the F-150 Lightning Has Been a Big Success
Future Ford EV models may look a lot different than the F-150 Lightning, and that may not necessarily be a good thing.
Though the EV pickup segment remains a small one – for now – the Ford F-150 Lightning has thus far proven to be a smash hit in that space, for a variety of reasons. For starters, we can’t ignore the fact that the F-Series has remained atop the sales charts for decades now, cementing the fact that The Blue Oval makes America’s favorite pickup trucks. But one of the things that many people find appealing is the fact that the F-150 Lightning doesn’t look like some sort of jelly bean on wheels, as is the case with many electric vehicles. But some recently revealed Ford EV plans may indicate that the automaker is planning to take a completely different approach in the future.
Over the past several months, CEO Jim Farley has made one thing abundantly clear – future Ford EV models won’t look much like the current trio of offerings. In fact, Farley went so far as to say that traditional buyers of vehicles like the Explorer may not even like their future all-electric counterparts, which raised more than a few eyebrows. Most recently, when announcing Project T3 – its second EV pickup, set to enter production at BlueOval City in 2025 – Farley gave us more clues that suggest it may deviate greatly from the Lightning as well.
“PJ O’Rourke once described American pickups as ‘a back porch with an engine attached,” Farley said. “Well, this new truck is going to be like the Millennium Falcon – with a back porch attached. “The manufacturing process will be equally breakthrough, with radical simplicity, cost efficiency and quality technology that will make BlueOval City the modern-day equivalent of Henry Ford’s Rouge factory. A factory of the future that people from all over the world will want to tour.”
Star Wars fans will tell you that Farley referring to the future Ford EV pickup as the “Millennium Falcon” with a bed could be interpreted a few different ways, but we are talking about a space ship that’s cobbled together and somewhat ugly, yet beloved among fans for its underdog status. While this seems like a bit of a strange comparison, we imagine that he was simply trying to infer that Project T3 will be extremely futuristic in terms of its styling and technology, which means that it won’t look a whole heck of a lot like the F-150 Lightning, which is extremely traditional in design – after all, it shares a large number of components with its gas-powered brethren.
Farley has said as much in the past – future Ford EV models will ride on dedicated platforms and prioritize aerodynamics to improve range, most likely eschewing current design philosophies in favor of sleeker lines. And this is yet another important sticking point – Ford’s Model e EV unit lost $2.1 billion in 2022, and is expected to bleed another $3 billion in 2023, continuing to lose money until 2026, when it’s projected to be profitable. This is notable because that’s precisely when FoMoCo’s second-generation EVs – including Project T3 – will help right the ship thanks to their lower costs and shared components.
Problem is, that also means that Ford is taking a bit of a gamble by deviating from one of the biggest factors behind the Lightning’s success thus far – it looks like a pickup truck, with precisely zero of the controversial styling cues present on rivals like the Rivian R1T, GMC Hummer EV pickup, and even the forthcoming Chevy Silverado EV. Many who have considered making or who have already made the switch to the F-150 Lightning are doing so because they like the fact that they won’t draw a crowd everywhere they go, and it remains to be seen how or if that will change with the arrival of edgier-looking EVs like Project T3.
Photos: Ford
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