Ford Trademarks Maverick Lightning, Ranger Lightning in Europe, New EVs Coming?
Maverick Lightning and Ranger Lightning sure sound like future EV pickups, but there are a few questions worth asking here.
The Ford F-150 Lightning has enjoyed tremendous interest since its reveal last year, and quickly sold out for the 2022 model year amid The Blue Oval’s many production struggles. Regardless, Ford is planning on significantly ramping up production of the EV pickup in 2023, and will also be adding a second to its lineup in the near future. However, two recent trademark filings in Europe – Maverick Lightning and Ranger Lightning – may give us a clue as to what the future holds for Ford’s EV pickup lineup.
Ford filed to trademark both Maverick Lightning and Ranger Lightning with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) earlier this week, as originally discovered by CarBuzz, and it’s pretty obvious to anyone that both could very well wind up becoming electric versions of existing models. This would make perfect sense, as the F-150 Lightning is already a well-known commodity, and keeping some symmetry (a la the Raptor family) in Ford’s truck lineup would be a smart move in terms of capitalizing on existing brand recognition.
Of course, neither move is terribly surprising, given CEO Jim Farley‘s comments about envisioning a family of Maverick variants, including an EV, as well as recently admitting that the automaker was working on a second EV pickup at the F-150 Lightning’s launch. The brand new, next-generation Ranger just launched in global markets this past May, and was designed with electrification in mind, perhaps beyond the long-rumored hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions.
It certainly makes sense for Ford to trademark Maverick Lightning and Ranger Lightning as it aims to go all-electric in Europe by 2030 and perhaps even North America at some point in the future, especially given the warm reception buyers have given every EV pickup that has hit the market thus far. The real question is – why would they file these trademarks in Europe, particularly when the automaker previously said it wouldn’t sell the Maverick in that region?
It’s quite possible that Ford changed its mind in that regard, or perhaps it’s just covering its tracks in case it does decide to name EV versions of both pickups in the same vein as the F-150. Of course, trademark filings don’t mean that something is going to happen, but sometimes, they make too much sense not to. In this instance, we’re betting on the latter.
Photos: Ford
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