A week after unveiling its all-electric F-150 Lightning truck, Ford said Wednesday, it has already received about 70,000 reservations. The first of the new trucks won't ship until next spring, and reservations aren't firm commitments to buy, just a strong show of interest paired with a $100 refundable deposit. But Ford celebrated the big numbers as a vote of consumer confidence.
The gas-powered F-150 is America's best-selling automobile, so its success or failure is seen as a litmus test for consumer adoption of electric vehicles. Ford said Wednesday that it now expects 40 percent of its global vehicle volume to be electric by 2030 and announced another $8 billion in spending on electrifying its fleet, including developing new batteries, bringing its spending to more than $30 billion by 2025.
The electric F-150 ranges in price from about $40,000 for its base model to $90,474 for its fully loaded Platinum Limited version, not including federal and state rebates or delivery fees. Ford shares are up 58 percent this year, Fox Business reports.