Ford CEO Jim Farley Shares Reservation Numbers For The F-150 Lightning

We talked a bit about the reveal of the 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning electric vehicle this week. The truck was officially revealed on May 19. Recently Ford CEO Jim Farley conducted an interview where he casually mentioned that 20,000 people reserved the truck within 12 hours of its debut. Reservations required signing up on a website and plunking down a $100 refundable deposit.

Since the deposit is refundable and was such a small amount, you can bet there are quite a few of the 20,000 people who will ultimately not purchase the truck. The Lightning starts at $39,974 for the version aimed at fleet use before the destination and delivery charge or discounts from federal or state tax incentives.

Farley also confirmed that Ford would limit production of the Lightning in its first year. However, he didn’t say what volume the truck would be produced in. Other estimates have suggested the Lightning could see production numbers as high as 80,000 units in its first year. For comparison, the Mustang Mach-E was limited to 50,000 vehicles in its first year of production.

Battery availability tends to limit the production of electric vehicles, and the automotive market is currently facing a chip shortage that could impact production. Since the F-150 is the best-selling vehicle overall in America, there will certainly be a lot of people interested in an electric version.