Ford Raises the Prices of the F-150 Lightning Electric Pickup Due to Rising Raw Material Costs

author: Eric Walz   

The Ford F-150 Lightning.

Ford is raising prices of the F-150 Lightning electric pickup for the first time since its launch earlier this year. The automaker cited significant material cost increases and other factors for the price hikes of nearly 20% on Lightning models.

Ford has adjusted MSRP starting with the opening of the next wave of F-150 Lightning orders, which were recently closed due to higher than expected demand for the battery-powered truck.

The automaker said prices for the 2023 F-150 Lightning will jump between $6,000 and $8,500 depending on the model. The entry-level F-150 Lightning Pro now starts at  $47,000, which is up from the previous MSRP of $39,974.

The more affordable Lighting Pro models are intended to help Ford's commercial customers make the switch to zero-emissions electric vehicles.

Moving up the lineup the XLT now has an MSRP of $59,474. The XLT High starts at $68,474, while the XLT High Extended Range has jumped to $80,974. The Lariat is now priced at $74,474, while the Extended Range Larient jumped to $85,974.

The top of the line F-150 Lightning Platinum Extended Range starts at $96,874, which increased by $6,000 from $90,874. For comparison, the gas-powered F-150 XLT starts at $39,165, while the Platinum F-150 starts at $63,100.

For those customers already waiting for their F-150 Lightnings, Ford said it will honor the previous MSRP for all customer preorders, including those customers facing longer wait times due their specific configurations being unavailable. The delays are due to semiconductor shortages and of supply chain issues affecting the entire auto industry.

Lightning customers that decided to extend their reservations in order to receive a specific F-150 Lightning build will receive a private offer for use in upcoming waves, according to Ford.

"Current order holders awaiting delivery are not impacted by these price adjustments," Marin Gjaja, chief customer officer, Model e, said. "We've announced pricing ahead of re-opening order banks so our reservation holders can make an informed decision around ordering a Lightning."

In March, Ford rival Rivian also was forced to raise prices up to 20% for its electric R1T pickup and R1S SUV due to rising costs of raw materials and semiconductor shortages. Rivian CEO R.J Scaringe faced intense backlash for the price hikes, since the company failed to notify reservation holders ahead of time. 

In this case, the price increase also applied to Rivian reservation holders, some of which put down deposits for an electric Rivian vehicle back in 2020 and locked in favorable prices. Ford was careful not to repeat Rivian's mistakes, which resulted in a flood of order cancellations.

Rivian's problems were made worse by not providing an official explanation about the price hikes for two days. The EV startup also acknowledged its lack of communication that led to price increases. 

Just days later, Rivian backtracked and sent an email to reservation holders that said it would honor the original quoted prices. The company also said it would restore original configurations, pricing and delivery times. 

The all-electric F-150 Lightning pickup is an electric version of the best-selling truck in America for 45 consecutive years. The Lightning officially launched in April 2022 and demand has been strong. The first customer deliveries began in May with over 4,400 sold year to date.

Ford originally planned to build 40,000 F-150 Lightning a year, but stronger than anticipated demand led the automaker to triple its planned production. Ford received roughly 200,000 preorders for the electric truck before it had to close the order banks in Dec 2021, to ensure that customers wouldn't face extended wait times.

For now aims to build 150,000 Lightning trucks a year at the newly retooled Rouge manufacturing complex, which will only build electric vehicles. Ford is also building a second and much larger electric vehicle production facility in Tennessee.

Along with the F-150 Lightning price hikes, Ford bumped the range on the Pro, XLT and Lariat trims. Beginning this fall, these F-150 Lightning models built with the standard range battery will have a targeted EPA-estimated range of 240 miles, up from 230 miles.

F-150 Lightning customers can also choose two new colors among the 10 available options, which are Avalanche Gray and Azure Gray metallic tri-coat. Those colors replace Atlas Blue, Ice Blue Silver and Smoked Quartz Metallic, which won't be offered on models built starting this fall.

The new Ford Pro Special Service Vehicle Package is now available on F-150 Lightning Pro models for fleet customers. The package includes police-grade heavy-duty cloth front seats, built-in steel intrusion plates and available roof-mounted LED warning beacons.

Eric Walz

Originally hailing from New Jersey, Eric is a automotive & technology reporter covering the high-tech industry here in Silicon Valley. He has over 15 years of automotive experience and a bachelors degree in computer science. These skills, combined with technical writing and news reporting, allows him to fully understand and identify new and innovative technologies in the auto industry and beyond. He has worked at Uber on self-driving cars and as a technical writer, helping people to understand and work with technology.