Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) looks to steer the electric vehicle narrative away from Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA).
What Happened: According to Bloomberg Intelligence, Ford is ramping up production of its full-size battery-only pickup truck, the F-150 Lightning. Tesla and legacy rival General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM) are expected to foray into this category next year, while Rivian Automotive Inc.'s (NASDAQ:RIVN) small scale makes it non-threatening.
“If battery-electric vehicles are going to tip from 3% to a majority of new unit volume in the U.S., Ford and GM are the companies with the scale to make it happen,” the research report said.
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“Ford's Lightning pickup is the first and potentially most important BEV from a legacy automaker during the transition.”
Why It Matters: The F-150 Lightning is Ford’s first big move towards electrification after it launched the Mustang Mach-E in December 2020. The legacy automaker began handing over the Lightning to customers in May, a month after starting production.
Tesla’s Cybertruck, on the other hand, will be launched “hopefully next year,” Musk told investors in January. That should give Ford a good head start in the category.
See Also: Bill Ford Says F-150 Lightning 'Most Important' Launch Of His Career
Ford revealed earlier this year it would nearly double the production capacity of F-150 Lightning pickups to 150,000 vehicles per year to meet growing demand. The automaker has nearly 200,000 reservations, excluding fleet reservations.
Ford says BEVs will be 40% of sales by 2030.
Price Action: Ford is trading flat at $12.17 on Wednesday, according to Benzinga Pro.
