Ford Jacks Sticker on F-150 Lightning

Prices of everything are going up these days – food, gasoline, our Managing Ed’s subscription to Utne Reader – and vehicles are not immune. We’re not just talking about the haywire used car market or greedy dealer markups, either; Ford has seen fit to hike its asking price for the dandy F-150 Lightning. Again.

Remember when the Blue Oval’s new savior started at $39,974? Pepperidge Farms remembers. TTAC does too, as that was the model to which we palmed the keys at the truck’s launch earlier this year deep in the heart of in Texas. With its latest in a string of price increases, customers will now need to pony up $55,974 for the least expensive F-150 Lightning, the generally excellent Pro trim which is targeted at fleets and contractors yet has an interior that doesn’t feel decontented. 

And, yes, as per the Ford website: the Pro trim is equipped with the Standard Range battery targeting an EPA-estimated 230 miles of driving range on a full charge. So it’s not like Ford is pulling a sneaky on ya and slipping the 320-mile Extended Range pack in there to make up the price difference. In fact, it appears the ER battery is no longer an option on the Pro at all. Back at launch when it was offered, it bore a sticker ten grand more than the SR. For those of you challenged in mathematics, this now places the Standard Range truck $6,000 dearer than the Extended Range truck cost at launch. 

Why? Because reasons, of course. Actually, there are some very legit motives for price increases, including supply chain challenges and a spike in the costs of raw materials. This is a common thread for all automakers, not just Ford, though EVs – which require certain metals for their batteries – seem especially susceptible to these market mood swings. Still, a 40 percent hike in base price from $40k to $56k ain’t exactly chump change.

We’ll also take this opportunity to point out there is no shortage of demand for the Lightning, to the point where Glass House execs have decided to add a third shift at its Rouge plant in Dearborn. Ford said it added 250 jobs in November at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center to staff that shift, a spot that now employs 750 people. It is targeting an annual production of 150,000 F-150 Lightning pickups by this time next year.

How much of these price hikes are due to the supply chain and how much is related to Ford perhaps realizing they can sell these things for more than they initially thought? Give yer take in the comments below.

[Image: Ford]

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