The Ford F-150 Lightning Just Got Even More Expensive. Here's Why
Ford Motor Company is resuming production of its popular all-electric F-150 Lightning after a battery fire in February shut down the assembly line. But when eager buyers head over to the newly opened order banks, they're going to face an unpleasant surprise — prices have risen yet again. The Lightning Pro, a basic model that's intended for commercial use such as construction and utility companies, will now start at $59,974, not including a mandatory $1,895 shipping fee, according to Automotive News.
That's $4,000 higher than just a few months ago and a staggering 50% higher than when the truck launched in April 2022. If there's any silver lining here, it's that the higher-level trims — all geared toward retail customers — didn't increase as much as the Pro. The mid-level Lariat jumped $1,500 to $75,974, while the top-of-the-line Platinum rose $2,000 to $98,874. Inexplicably, the XLT trim escaped with no price increase whatsoever.
Battery woes are partly to blame
Ford says that it is adjusting the price due to a number of factors, not the least of which are higher material prices and the supply chain struggles that arose during the height of the pandemic. As expected, the automaker will keep an eye on the cost going forward, and it promises that those who already placed a retail order and are simply waiting for delivery won't be hit by the price increase. This latest round of price jumps comes on the heels of multiple price increases during 2022.
Complicating matters, Ford was forced to shut down the Lightning factory in February after a just-completed truck caught fire in a parking lot outside the facility. A faulty battery was identified as the cause and forced a recall of 18 customer trucks which had already been shipped prior to the problem being identified. Production was originally scheduled to resume on March 13, so the wait to receive a fresh supply of untainted battery packs has clearly taken longer than expected.
Price increases are never a good thing for consumers, but with demand for the F-150 Lightning so great that it's leading to 12-month wait times, it's hard to fault the automaker for capitalizing on the truck's popularity. Especially since Ford expects to lose $3 billion on its EV business this fiscal year.