Once America’s most popular electric pickup, the Ford F-150 Lightning is finding a second life on the used market.
Ford F-150 Lightning finds buyers in the used market
The F-150 Lightning is hard to pass up at 50% to 60% off sticker price, even used. With new models no longer available, Ford’s electric pickup is suddenly selling like hotcakes on the used market.
After the last model rolled off the assembly line last December, CEO Jim Farley said the decision to end production came as the “very high-end EVs, the $50K, 70K, $80,000 vehicles, they just weren’t selling.”
At 50% to 60% off, it now looks like a bargain in the used market. “When Ford was selling it brand new, the math was complicated,” Jimmy Douglas, CEO of Plug, a wholesale EV dealer, recently told Bloomberg.
On the used market, however, “the Lightning is 50% to 60% of the sticker price and that is really a sweet spot,” he added.
Used Ford F-150 Lightnings are selling in about 20 days, less than half the 44-day average for used vehicles in the US. According to Edmunds.com, prices are now up 4% to about $50,000 since the start of the year.
Douglass said that close to one-third of used models are sold by rival dealerships that would normally flip them back to Ford. However, many are opting to sell them directly because of demand.
Chase Norris from Colorado called the electric pickup a bargain. He purchased a used Lightning for around $40,000 and considers it a major upgrade from his previous gas F-150.
EV Group CEO and cofounder Alex Lawrence, which sells pre-owned electric vehicles, said he can’t get his hands on any reasonably priced used F-150 Lightnings currently.
He said many Lightning buyers use it as a second truck to save money during their weekly commute.
It looks essentially the same as the gas-powered F-150, offers instant torque, and produces zero tailpipe emissions, but the electric pickup failed to meet Ford’s expectations because of its higher price.
The base F-150 Lightning Pro debuted in 2021 with a starting MSRP of $39,974, but that was quickly raised to around $60,000 a year or so later.
According to Edmunds.com, the average transaction price for the F-150 Lightning in its first year of sales was $79,000 because Ford focused on higher-priced trims. The gas version’s ATP was about $19,000 less.
Even with the higher sticker price, Ford was losing a considerable amount on each Lightning it produced. In Q1 2024, Ford lost more than $100,000 on every EV it built.
Next year, Ford will take another crack at the electric pickup market with the Fathom, the first vehicle based on its “groundbreaking” new Universal Electric Vehicle (UEV) platform.
Ford said the Fathom will start at $28,350 for the standard-range version. Even with the $1,595 delivery fee included, the electric pickup will start at under $30,000.
As the first vehicle built on its UEV platform, Ford promises the Fathom will be a step-change from its first-generation EVs.
According to Ford, the electric pickup will offer more interior space than a Toyota RAV4 and will be the first vehicle with Apple Maps directly integrated into the navigation system.
We also know the electric pickup will have a NACS port after a few prototypes were spotted charging at a Tesla Supercharger this summer.
Ford reportedly aims to sell around 100,000 Fathoms in its first year. CEO Jim Farley said on the company’s third-quarter earnings call last week that the launch remains on track for Q4 2027.
Farley called the Fathom a “breakthrough product” and said that the MSRP under $30,000 is perfect for today’s market.
At least some F-150 owners are already trading in for lower-priced options. A member of the Ford F-150 Lightning Owners Group, JF, said that although it was a great ride, “Carvana gave us just a little less than we paid new,” adding, “R2, here we come!”
When Torque News reached out, JF said he “really liked the Lightning,” but wanted something smaller. “With the current increase in resale value, the time to trade seemed right,” JF added.
The Rivian R2 (see our review) Performance with the Launch Package is now available to order starting at $57,990 with an EPA-estimated range of up to 330 miles and 656 hp. The R2 Premium will go on sale later this year, starting at $53,990
In Spring 2027, Rivian will launch the R2 Standard, starting at $44,990 with an estimated range of up to 275 miles and 350 hp.
Electrek’s Take
Surging F-150 Lightning sales on the used market show buyers want electric pickups. But at the right price.
At $60,000 to $70,000, the Lightning wasn’t so attractive, but at $40,000 used, it suddenly is. Perhaps Ford is on to something with its next-gen EV pickup, the Fathom, set to go on sale starting at under $30,000.
Will it deliver on its promise? Ford has yet to reveal battery specs, towing capacity, range, or any other specs. We should learn more soon.
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