Motor Mouth: What Ford is not telling you about its new all-electric F-150

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This is the most important vehicle that will be launched this year. The release of any F-150 is big news; the fact the new Lightning pickup is battery-powered just doubles the size of the headlines. Indeed, there’s a valid argument that, in North America at least, the electric F-150 may be the litmus test for the future success of battery power.  

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Is the Lightning up to the task?

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The answer to this question is yes — mostly. In terms of styling, Ford has a veritable home run on its hands, adding just enough “electric” styling cues to the F-150’s traditional shape to make it appealing to new customers, without alienating loyalists of its boxy brutishness. Leave the Cybertruck to the Silicon Valley poseurs, Ford seems to be saying, we sell to real pickup owners.

As for everyday amenities, the standout features, as detailed by colleague Andrew McCredie , are legion. Anyone sitting on the fence as to whether their next vehicle should be ICE- or battery-powered has to be impressed with any vehicle that will — thanks to what Ford calls its Intelligent Backup Power system — be able to light up your entire house for three days if there’s a power outage . And how about an independent rear suspension on an F-150, the result, say Ford’s engineers, of the Lightning’s inboard motor design? Do you really need more reason to go battery electric?

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Uhm, maybe faster charging

The most interesting thing about the F-150 Lightning’s grandiose unveiling is what we don’t know. For instance, the F-150’s spec sheet is replete with power specs — 426 and 563 horsepower out of its standard and extended models, respectively — and expected range. We also know how quickly it will accelerate (4.6 seconds to 100 kilometres an hour), how quickly it can be charged (from 15 to 80 per cent in 41 minutes on a DC fast-charger), and how much the extended-range version can tow (10,000 pounds).

What we don’t know is the size of the batteries. In fact, we have no information about the batteries whatsoever. We don’t know their operating voltage or how many cells make up the standard- or extended-range versions. Quite literally, nothing. For those unfamiliar with electric vehicle technology, try to understand my consternation. Imagine if Ford released an all-new, gas-powered F-150 with specs detailing its horsepower, fuel consumption, and acceleration, but refused to tell us engine displacement or even how many cylinders. The Lightning’s is the strangest model reveal I can remember in my 38 years in the business.

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What Ford isn’t telling us

It’s possible — though, I’d suggest, not probable — Ford isn’t offering us battery details because it has an upcoming battery announcement that is not yet fully developed. One clue might be the Lightning’s fast-charging specs. On a DC 150-kW charger, the smaller-battery version — with 110 to 130 kWh, estimates Forbes — take 44 minutes to charge to 80 per cent from 15, while the larger battery (150 to 180 kWh, says Forbes ) takes 41. Perhaps Ford has discovered some super-secret cooling system that lets its bigger battery charge more quickly, and is looking to surprise us closer to the Lightning’s on-sale date.

More likely is the possibility Ford’s marketing department simply doesn’t want a direct comparison with GMC’s upcoming Hummer SUT. General Motors has already announced its pickup will offer batteries with up to 200 kilowatt-hours and 350-kW charging, double the Lightning’s 150-kW maximum fast charge. The reason — and again, there must be a reason for such glaring omissions in the spec chart — is that The General’s Ultium batteries run on 800 volts, while the Lightning’s lithium-ion setup almost assuredly operates on the same 400 volts as the Mustang Mach-E.

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Why does voltage matter?

Voltage, plain and simple, is the key to fast-charging. A higher charging voltage simply allows for faster charging. 

The reason is actually not very complicated: The enemy of fast-charging is heat build-up within the battery. What causes heat build-up is current. And the very simplest equation in all of electricity is that power (as in how much you put back into the battery while charging) is volts times amps (P = V x A). I don’t think an advanced engineering degree is needed to figure out that, if you double the voltage, you halve the amps. That’s why an 800-volt EV — like the upcoming Hummer SUT — can boast 350-kW charging, more than twice as much as the new F-150’s 150-kW maximum.

Does fast-charging matter?

At first glance, perhaps not. Looking at the specs, the extended-range battery — which we expect will bump up the price by about $15,000 — boasts 483 kilometres of range and can be recharged in 41 minutes. At face value, it would seem like you could get four or so hours of highway driving before having to stop for a 41-minute break. That sounds almost reasonable, even to an EV sceptic.

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Read the tea leaves and it’s obvious Ford is prioritizing its commercial clientele over mainstream consumers

Except, if you look closely, those 41 minutes only allow you to charge to 80 per cent from 15 (one of the anomalies of charging batteries is that, regardless of voltage, once past 80 per cent, charging slows considerably, which is why EV manufacturers only specify charging times to 80 per cent).

That’s only about two-thirds of a full charge, which means you would regain only about 320 km — a little more than two-and-a-half hours of driving at a buck-twenty — from your 41-minute stop.

Actually, it gets a little worse. That 483-km range estimation is based on mostly slow-speed city driving. Range Finder recently tested the Mustang Mach-E — which presumably uses the same battery technology — and though it promised 435 km of range, it delivered only 325 klicks when cruising at a steady 125 km/h. Factoring in a similar reduction — the heavier, less aerodynamic pickup will probably actually fare worse — means your 483 km of range (and four hours of driving) looks more like two hours and 240 km after that 41-minute recharge. You could gain a few more klicks by charging the battery all the way up to 100 per cent, but, as I mentioned, that is going to take waaay longer.

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Has Ford screwed up by not offering 800V batteries on the F-150?

Not necessarily. Most revealing is that the commercial version of the Lightning retails for just $58,000 ($39,974 in the U.S.). That number is less than half of what GMC is going to charge for its fast-charging Hummer. It will also be less expensive than the upcoming Rivian and whatever Tesla decides to really charge for the Cybertruck once it finally arrives. Fast-charging may be desirable but it’s also expensive, and it appears Ford has prioritized price over charging speed.

The most telling statistic, then, is that the vast preponderance of commercial drivers travels less than 300 km a day — well within the range of even the standard battery — which means that said slow charging should not be a factor in their purchase decision. Low price, on the other hand, most assuredly is.

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So, that’s what Ford’s up to

Read the tea leaves — or, more accurately, power through the electric formulae — and it’s obvious Ford is (at least initially) prioritizing its commercial clientele over mainstream consumers. The new F-150 Lightning is more than capable of all that most fleet operators will ask of it. On the other hand, retail truck consumers — especially those for whom their pickup is their sole vehicle — will almost assuredly find its DC fast-charging wanting.  

Even Ford’s product planning seems to reflect that dichotomy. Unlike the gas-powered version, there is no base XL-model Lightning; the cheapest electric F-150, the more upscale XLT, starts at $68,000 ($52,974 south of the border). That essentially prices the Lightning out of the entry-level consumer market, relegating the electric F-150 to the affluent pickup buyer whose multi-vehicle household makes its relatively slow DC charging inconsequential.  

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The bottom line

Fast-charging is the future. Whether there’s a 350-kW fast-charging network already in place matters not; it would be a huge mistake, even at this juncture, to foist lowly 400-volt 150-kW charging on mainstream consumers and think it will be adequate for the long-term future. Imagine Apple not building 5G into the iPhone 11 just because an mmWave network is not yet available coast to coast. In other words, if Ford is still selling 400-volt F-150s in, say, four years, its competitors will speed on by.  

On the other hand, if the current technology is but a short-term intermediate step — and I really do emphasize “short-term” — to be first and cheapest into the pickup segment, then its seemingly odd positioning and pricing may prove brilliant. For now, I think the main market for the new Lightning are commercial fleets and the same affluent dilettantes that Tesla attracts.