Ford has decided to increase the prices of the F-150 Lightning, the electric version of its best-selling F-150 pickup.
The base price of the F-150 Lightning will increase by $5,000 for 2023 model year vehicles. Consumers should therefore pay from roughly $52,000 to $97,000 depending on the version. For 2022 model year vehicles, base prices ranged from $40,000 to $92,000. These prices obviously exclude taxes, delivery and other charges.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/news/ford-delivers-very-bad-news-to-ev-buyers/ar-AA12FDXG?ocid=entnewsntp&pc=U531&cvid=6f4e02596150494394c45332311c87a5The base price of the F-150 Lightning Pro, the model intended for professional customers - businesses, government - will increase by almost 11% to $51,974. The increase is even more spectacular if we refer to the very first vehicles in May 2021. These cost $39,974.
Price increases do not affect customers who have already placed their order.
This is the second time in just over a month that Ford has raised prices for the F-150 Lightning. On August 9, the manufacturer had increased the prices of the truck/pickup between $6,000 and $8,500 depending on the model.
The base price of the F-150 Lightning model year 2023 thus climbed between $47,000 and $97,000, compared to approximately $40,000 to $92,000 for model year 2022 vehicles. These prices obviously exclude taxes, delivery and other charges.
As in August, Ford attributed further price hike to costs related to continued disruptions affecting supply chain
The supply chain disruptions have been exacerbated by the covid-19 pandemic and the microchip shortage. These two problems together have forced automakers to temporarily suspend production of some, often very popular, models. They also reduced the inventory of new vehicles.
The cost of battery development has more than doubled since the coronavirus pandemic, research firm AlixPartners has calculated. This increase in costs is due to the disruptions caused to supply chains by the pandemic and the soaring prices of raw materials following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
The costs of the raw materials (cobalt, nickel, lithium) necessary in the development of an electric vehicle have on average increased by almost 144% in two years to $8,255 as of last May, according to a report published in June by AlixPartners. As of March 2020, these costs amounted to $3,381. The cost of developing the electric vehicle has increased by about $2,000 over the past two years, the research firm added.