The End of the Lightning, As We Knew It
The Ford F-150 Lightning’s future has been under a cloud since last month. Production stops, cooling EV demand in the US, and big losses in Ford’s EV division all pointed to trouble. Now it’s official: Ford will end production of the current all-electric Lightning this year. The truck launched with a lot of excitement, but it never quite found its footing.
But Ford isn’t dropping the Lightning name. Instead, it’s changing course. The next version will be called the F-150 Lightning EREV, an extended-range electric truck that shifts the Lightning’s role in Ford’s lineup. That said, this isn’t the end of the Lightning, just a reinvention aimed at buyers who want electric power but aren’t ready to give up the pump gas.
What an EREV Brings to the Table
An extended-range electric vehicle isn’t just another hybrid. In the Lightning EREV, only the electric motors drive the wheels. Much like Nissan’s upcoming e-Power, there’s no direct connection between the engine and the wheels. Instead, a powerful onboard generator kicks in to recharge the battery when needed, which means you get a lot more range without giving up the electric drive feel.
It’s unclear whether the upcoming Lightning EREV will have a plug like the EREVs sold in China, or if it will be completely plugless like the incoming Nissan Rogue e-Power. Either way, range anxiety will become a thing of the past for the next-generation Lightning.
Ford says the new Lightning EREV will go more than 700 miles on a charge, while keeping the instant torque, quiet ride, and power-out features that made the original Lightning stand out. The goal is to keep the EV experience for daily driving while removing the worry about range when towing or heading out on a long trip. It’s a move toward flexibility rather than sticking to a pure EV formula, and the company claims it’s what customers want.
“The F-150 Lightning is a groundbreaking product that demonstrated an EV pickup can still be a great F-Series,” said Doug Field, Ford’s chief EV, digital and design officer. “Our next-generation F-150 Lightning EREV will be every bit as revolutionary. It delivers everything Lightning customers love – near instantaneous torque and pure electric driving. But with a high-power generator enabling an estimated range of 700+ miles, it tows like a locomotive. Heavy-duty towing and cross-country travel will be as effortless as the daily commute.”
Ford
The Pickup EV Reality Check
Ford isn’t the only one changing direction in the electrified truck segment. Stellantis already dropped its plans for a fully electric Ram 1500 and is now focusing on the range-extended Ram 1500 REV. GM’s electric pickups are still on sale, but sales numbers are modest at best. Chevrolet has sold 9,379 Silverado EVs so far this year, and GMC has moved 6,147 Sierra EVs, according to Cox Automotive’s Q3 2025 EV sales data. That’s behind the Lightning’s 23,034 units in the same period, but the whole segment is still small.
Tesla’s Cybertruck is in the middle, with 16,097 units sold in Q3 2025, but even those numbers have slowed from early hype. The bigger picture is that electric pickups aren’t going away, but the market is shifting toward more practical solutions instead of all-in EV bets.
Ford says the next-generation F-150 Lightning EREV will be built at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, with further details and timing to be revealed down the line. We’re expecting it to arrive earlier than 2028 as previously reported.
About the author
Jacob Oliva
Senior Editor, Autoblog