Ford has stopped taking reservations for its first electric F-150 pickup after hitting its cap of 200,000.
Each customer has paid a $100 deposit for the F-150 Lightning, which starts at $40,000, and Ford will now work to convert the reservations to orders.
Ford is aiming to begin building and shipping the Lightning during the first half of next year, with the am of fulfilling initial orders by mid-2022.
But reports this week suggest that despite efforts to boost capacity, Ford is unlikely to be able to ship the new electric pickup to all 200,000 reservation holders in 2022.
Speaking to CNBC on Thursday, Ford CEO Jim Farley said the automaker is aiming for full production capacity at “70,000 or 80,000 units” for the F-150 Lightning, adding: “We’re going to try to double that. We’ve done it in the past. Don’t bet against Ford when we have to increase capacity.”
Ford is expected to use a “waved invitation approach” to convert reservations to orders in a staggered process beginning next month, a spokeswoman told Automotive News.
“The number of waves will be adjusted throughout the process based on available commodities and customer order rates from each previous wave,” the spokeswoman said. “Invitations to order a 2022 model year will continue to be sent to reservation holders until 2022 model year production is fulfilled. Remaining reservationists will be invited to order in subsequent model years.”
The F-150 Lightning, with a range that starts at 230 miles, is the most highly anticipated F-Series pickup in years. The F-Series, which launched in the late 1940s, has proved hugely successful for Ford. The award-winning F-150 arrived in 1974.
Though sporting markedly different designs, many are interested to see how the F-150 Lightning fares against Tesla’s futuristic-looking Cybertruck, which should also hit the road in 2022. Reports earlier this year claimed Tesla has taken more than a million pre-orders for the Cybertruck.
When Tesla boss Elon Musk unveiled the Cybertruck in 2019, it came with a Tesla-produced video showing a gas-powered F-150 losing to the Cybertruck in a tug-of-war towing contest. Critics said the test conditions were unfairly weighted toward the Cybertruck, prompting Ford to call for a rematch. But it later withdrew the offer.
