Electric Ford F-150 Lightning pickup goes on sale in Europe, but no plans for UK launch just yet
It's left-hand-drive only
Ford made waves with the launch in America of its powerful F-150 Lightning electric pick-up truck in 2022, and now the full-size electric truck is heading for Europe as a limited number are going on sale in Norway.
The Nordic country has the biggest uptake of electric vehicles, with 80 per cent of the market being EVs in 2022. It is also a lucrative market for Ford, since it accounts for 22 per cent of all European sales of the Mustang Mach-E electric SUV.
The F-150 Lightning won’t be available in large numbers, though, with Ford stating that ‘a strictly limited number of special F-150 Lightning Lariat Launch Edition’ models will be available on a first come, first served basis.
The F-150 has been a sales hit for Ford so far, with 200,000 reservations placed when it was first revealed in the USA. The limited stocks for Norway will be built in America at Ford’s Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan, which is aiming to ramp up production to 150,000 units this year.
“In my 25 years at Ford, I’ve never seen anything like the passion and demand I’m seeing from drivers to get behind the wheel of our F-150 Lightning,” said Per Gunnar Berg, managing director, Ford Norway. “It’s the perfect match for many customers in Norway – uniquely capable of quenching our thirst for adventure while embracing our passion for protecting the environment.”
The F-150 offered in Norway will come in the Super Crew Cab body style, so measures almost six metres long and weighs just under three tonnes. Most of the weight comes from the lithium-ion drive battery, which is available in the US in two sizes — 98kWh or 131kWh — although trucks sold in Norway will only feature the smaller pack. This is good for a range of 240 miles under US test conditions.
DC charging is rated at up to 150kW, which can take the battery from 15-80 per cent capacity in 39 minutes — a handy feature that can be used at the roughly 6,000 fast chargers that form part of Norway’s 20,000-strong charging network.
Power for the F-150 Lightning comes from dual electric motors that offer four-wheel drive and a total output of up to 452bhp, while 775lb ft of torque is on offer, too. This means 0-62mph is covered in less than five seconds, while the F-150 Lightning has a 3.5-tonne towing capacity.
A payload weight of 805kg isn’t quite a match for the one-tonne capacities offered by diesel pickups sold in the UK, but the 400-litre ‘Mega Power Frunk’ luggage compartment in the nose is unique to the Lightning — as well as offering secure storage, there are outlets inside that mean the drive battery can be used to power tools.
Inside, the F-150 Lightning comes with a 15.5in portrait-orientated touchscreen running Ford’s Sync 4 operating system with smartphone connectivity, plus a 12in digital instrument cluster for the driver. A set of on-board cameras help with manoeuvres, while Smart Hitch helps with attaching trailers and on-board scales help to estimate the vehicle’s overall weight with payload on board.
According to Ford, the F-150 Lightning offers a combination of on- and off-road performance, utility and zero-exhaust-emission driving that mean it’s perfectly suited to the Norwegian way of life and “friluftsliv” — the culture of unwinding in the wilderness.
While the F-150 Lightning will be offered for sale in Norway, there are no indications whether it will be offered in other regions. Since the truck is left-hand-drive-only, don’t expect the model to officially go on sale in the UK any time soon.
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