Ford has opened a major new front in the battle to dominate the fast-growing electric vehicle market, and it is banking on one of the world’s most powerful business franchises.
In a splashy presentation Wednesday night at a Ford plant in Dearborn, Michigan, the automaker unveiled an electric version of its popular F-150 pickup truck, called the Lightning. Ford’s F-series trucks, including the F-150, make up the top-selling vehicle line in the United States and typically generate about $42 billion a year in revenue, according to a study commissioned by Ford — or more than twice what McDonald’s brought in last year.
It is one of the most anticipated introductions of a new car and invited comparisons to Ford’s Model T, the car that made automobiles affordable to the masses. Ford has a lot at stake in the new vehicle’s success. If it can turn the F-150 Lightning into a big seller, Ford could accelerate the move toward electric vehicles, which scholars say is critical for the world to avoid the worst effects of climate change.