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First Look: 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning Pro

Ford returns to its blue collar roots with it first all-electric pickup truck with a focus on the commercial segment

Ford has taken a decidedly back-to-the-future approach with the initial launch of it first all-electric pickup truck.

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Instead of taking a page from the current EV playbook — which is to come out with a ‘Launch’ edition with a big, boastful battery range, lots of luxury accoutrements and a price point to match — the automaker is coming out of the gate with a stripped down version aimed squarely at those who use their pickup truck for work. Fitting, as for the better portion of their near three-quarter-century history, the F-Series were designed, built and bought as work trucks. Only in the past couple of decades has the pickup become a suburban family vehicle, valued for the same attributes by weekend warriors — utility, towing, off-road ability — as it was originally appreciated for by weekday workers.

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Called the ‘Pro,’ this all-new, all-electric model has a base price of $58,000 and is one of two trim levels coming to Canada in next spring when the 2022 F-150 Lightnings strike. The other is a well-equipped XLT, with a starting price of $68,000. As detailed here , each will be super crew configurations with a 5.5-foot bed, and each are available with either a regular range or extended-range battery pack.

While the lion’s share of the specs and details of the highly anticipated electric pickup were revealed during a global debut last week, more details specific to the Pro were released today. And clearly, Ford has made the calculus that to sell an electric pickup truck not as a niche vehicle but as a big volume one, fleet and commercial sales will play a massive part.

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“F-150 Lightning Pro represents so much more than an electric workhorse — it’s made for commercial customers inside and out, it gets better over time, and it’s totally plugged into always-on services that can help business productivity,” said Jim Farley, president and CEO, Ford Motor Company. “As more companies make the commitment to go carbon neutral, they are going to expect electric products that can integrate into their operations easily.”

Joining the Lightning Pro in Ford’s all-electric offering is the E-Transit, with more commercial EVs coming soon according to the company, along with a nationwide network offering EV-certified fleet sales, service and financing. Ford commercial customers will have exclusive access to the Ford eFleet Pro Planning tool that calculates a variety of factors including purchase and lease costs, regional fuel and energy costs, scheduled maintenance costs and kilometres driven.

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The F-150 Lightning Pro comes with a variety of standard and optional smart charging hardware accessories, along with software that manages charging data and charge transactions for turnkey fleet operation, including mapping, driver status and location, and fleet expenses.

As noted in our First Look of the F-150 Lightning last week, the frunk is a high-tech cargo area with 120-volt AC Pro Power Onboard electrical outlets, a seamless water-tight space strong enough to store 400 pounds of cement bags. Under the powered waterfall hood with bumper-height opening, the lit space can be locked, unlocked and accessed via remote key fob or from inside the vehicle. A drain plug at the bottom enables easy cleaning.

“When we first showed this design to commercial truck customers, they were floored,” said Ted Cannis general manager, Ford North America commercial business. “They appreciated the ability to quickly lock their tools and gear up front, while saving their cargo bed for supplies and other equipment to get the job done. So much space means commercial customers can rethink the way they work, like moving toolboxes to the frunk for unobstructed bed space.”

Registrations to purchase the F-150 Ford Lightning Pro open today at Ford.fleet.ca, and according to Ford Canada, when it arrives next spring it will be supported by a network of more than 100 Commercial Vehicle Centres across the country.

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