E-Transit: Ford has sold more than 3,500 E-Transits so far in 2022, which executives say represents about 95 percent of the electric van market. The automaker plans to launch the next-generation E-Transit, built on a dedicated battery platform, in 2026 at its Ohio Assembly Plant. Ford has promised to add a “new commercial vehicle” at the plant around mid-decade but hasn’t said what it will be. Ford executives have said the E-Transit is likely to get a new lithium iron phosphate cell chemistry, although it’s unclear whether that would happen before or after the redesign.
F-150 Lightning: Ford has a list of roughly 200,000 reservations that it needs to work through, but the electric pickup already is accomplishing what the automaker wanted: bringing new EV buyers into the fold. About 70 percent are new to the company, Ford says, and many are new to the pickup segment. Ford just raised Lightning prices for the 2023 model because of supply shortages, but it’s also bumping up the range and adding new features. The automaker is expected to introduce the new lithium iron phosphate battery cell chemistry, also coming to the Mach-E, on standard-range Lightnings starting in 2024. The automaker plans to ratchet up Lightning production in Dearborn, Mich., to as many as 150,000 a year by mid-2023.
Electric pickup: Ford has said its Blue Oval City assembly plant in Tennessee will build “next-generation electric F-Series pickups” on Ford’s dedicated battery platform. Farley went a step further, saying the new plant will build “another truck” that is not a redesigned Lightning. The vehicle will go on sale in 2025.
While details are scarce, it could be a distinctly styled full-size pickup under the F-Series umbrella that would be marketed more toward retail buyers while the traditional Lightning made in Michigan would be focused on commercial sales.
Electric Explorer: After scrapping plans to build the Explorer and Aviator EVs alongside the Mustang Mach-E in Cuautitlan, Mexico, Ford now plans to make the vehicles in Oakville, Ontario, starting in late 2024. Sales likely will begin in early 2025. The site soon will be converted from building the gasoline-powered Edge and Lincoln Nautilus.
Ford has teased the EV to some dealers, who say early video renderings show a large touch screen similar to what’s in the Mach-E and Lightning.
Mustang Mach-E: Both the Mach-E and the Mach-E GT performance variant have been early successes in Ford’s EV push. Now Ford is doubling down on the nameplate at its Cuautitlan Assembly Plant in Mexico. The automaker late last year announced plans to increase production there (by moving another planned EV program) to about 200,000 annually next year.
It’s also adding a new lithium iron phosphate cell chemistry to standard-range versions of the Mach-E in 2023. The vehicle will be redesigned on a new, dedicated battery platform in 2026.
Super Duty: After splitting the company into EV (Ford Model e) and gasoline (Ford Blue) divisions, executives want to prove there’s still investment to be had in its internal combustion powertrains. To that end, Ford plans to begin selling redesigned Super Duty models early next year. Farley has said the company will unveil them this fall. And despite Ford’s electrification push, it’s unlikely to give its biggest trucks a battery anytime soon; Farley has specifically mentioned the Super Duty as a type of vehicle that doesn’t make sense as an EV, at least for now.
F-150: The Lightning has been getting all the headlines, but the gasoline version is still the company’s cash cow and is all but guaranteed to ensure F-Series remains the best-selling vehicle line in the U.S. this year, despite a 12 percent decline through July because of supply chain shortages.
Ford recently revealed a high-performance Raptor R variant packing 700 hp that will go on sale this year. It plans to freshen the F-150 in the second half of 2023, with a redesign on a new platform expected in 2026.
Ranger: Ford will begin selling a reengineered Ranger in the first half of 2023. The next-generation model is expected to include an extended wheelbase variant, according to spy photographs. Farley also has promised a Raptor variant that will also launch next year, something enthusiasts have been clamoring for. It’s unclear how the U.S. version will differ from the overseas model, which already has been revealed with a 3.0-liter V-6 engine that gets 392 hp and 430 pound-feet of torque. Ford is expected to add a hybrid version in 2025.