Ford will build a second EV truck, CEO Jim Farley said Tuesday during the automaker’s splashy event to celebrate the production launch of the electric F-150 Lightning truck.
The F-150 Lightning is a full-size truck and the third EV in Ford’s battery-electric lineup following the Mustang Mach E and the commercial E-Transit van. Farley didn’t provide further details on the new model, but said that it will be built at Ford’s new $5.6 billion BlueOval City manufacturing complex in Stanton, Tennessee.
The complex in west Tennessee will begin producing advanced batteries and next-generation battery-electric F-Series pickups in 2025. Considering that the F-150 is a full-size truck, it’s likely the new model will be a mid-size version.
Ford’s truck-business is a volume leader that could catapult the automaker far ahead of rivals if its traditional customers are willing to go electric. The answer, so far, seems to be yes. The automaker, which began manufacturing the F-150 Lightning on Monday, has already doubled its planned annual production to 150,000 vehicles by 2023.
Farley said that Ford aims to build and sell 600,000 EVs worldwide by the end of 2023 and more than 2 million annually by 2026.