To avoid being overtaken by Tesla, Ford lowers the price of one of its electric cars

Ford continues to drive down the prices of its electric cars. After the Mustang Mach-E, it’s the turn of the F-150 Lightning to afford a big price drop of around $10,000. Will this be enough to compete with Tesla and its new Cubertruck? Not so sure…

Last year, Ford said it did not want to lower the price of its electric cars, preferring instead to increase its profits. But water flowed under the bridge and Tesla caused a major price war at the start of the year, by sharply reducing the prices of its Model 3 and Model Y. This had the effect of changing the situation considerably. for his rivals.

A sharp drop

And especially for Ford. The American firm has indeed reviewed its plans, and has finally made the decision to offer a nice discount on its Mustang Mach-E, which lost 5,000 euros. Which has still not made it eligible for the ecological bonus (except in a very special version), unlike the Model Y, which is still a hit. But the firm with the blue oval does not admit defeat and continues its offensive in order to grab customers from its rival.

That’s how this one just came from launch a new business operation on another of his models. This time it’s the F-150 Lightning (sold in Europe for a few weeks), an electric pickup that hunts on the land of the Tesla Cybertruck, whose production has just started. The journalists ofAutomotive News announce that it now costs much less.

In effect, Ford has decided to drop its price by around $10,000, which corresponds more or less to 8,900 euros. Now, the entry-level Pro version trades for 49,995 dollars (about 44,528 euros) while it was until now displayed at 59,974 dollars (about 53,416 euros), which is equivalent to a drop of $9,979 very precisely.

It is not known if this price drop will also be passed on with the version sold in Norway of the Ford F-150 Lightning.

Still high price

The firm with the blue oval justifies this discount by lower costs and increased production capacity at its American factory in Dearborn. Ford plans to triple the latter, and produce no less than 150,000 copies of its pick-up by the end of the year. However, this fall in prices is not without counterpart.

Indeed, the journalists of the site InsideEVs report that delivery costs are rising sharply, from $100 to $1,995, or approximately 1,777 euros according to the current exchange rate. A $1,000 discount is, however, offered to customers purchasing an XLT, Lariat, or Platinum version before the end of July. Note that the vehicle is eligible for the $7,500 tax credit.

But is this drop enough to overshadow Tesla? Not so sure, while Elon Musk finds the F-150 Lightning still too expensive. The boss of the American brand explains that the interest rates for this type of vehicle are very high. Should we expect a further drop? Not necessarily, since Ford CEO Jim Farley claims to have a limit not to cross.

The Dearborn manufacturer has several solutions in mind to offer cheaper models. Among them, the adoption of LFP (lithium – iron – phosphate) batteries, such as the Stellantis group, as well as the choice of smaller packs. This is the strategy chosen for the future electric Puma, which will see the light of day in 2025.