Ford Rewrites Its EV Playbook with a Generator-Powered F-150 Lightning
Right now, a major shift is unfolding at Ford, and it says a lot about where the electric vehicle market is heading. The company has confirmed that production of the fully electric F-150 Lightning, as we know it today, is coming to an end. In its place, Ford is preparing something very different — an “extended range electric vehicle” version of the Lightning that includes a built-in gas generator. That generator will recharge the battery on the go, pushing the truck’s total driving range beyond 700 miles.
This move is part of a much bigger rethink of Ford’s electric strategy. It was explained that demand for large, fully electric trucks hasn’t met expectations, while costs have stayed stubbornly high. Regulatory changes have also played a role. As a result, Ford is stepping back from projects that no longer make financial sense. One of the biggest casualties of this pivot is the next-generation all-electric truck known internally as “T3,” which has now been officially scrapped. That vehicle was meant to be a clean-sheet EV design, unlike the Lightning, which was built by adapting a traditional gas-powered truck platform.
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Alongside this, plans for a next-generation electric commercial van have also been dropped, although the existing E-Transit van will continue to be produced. Ford has said this broader shift will trigger a massive $19.5 billion charge in special items, most of it hitting the books in the fourth quarter, as multiple factories and battery projects are affected.
Despite pulling back on large EVs, Ford is not abandoning electrification entirely. A mid-sized all-electric pickup is still planned for 2027, built on a flexible platform developed by a skunkworks team led by former Tesla executives. That same platform is expected to support several future Ford vehicles. The difference now is focus. Instead of betting billions on big electric trucks with slim margins, the company is redirecting investment toward hybrids, extended-range EVs, more trucks and vans, affordable electric models, and even new areas like energy storage.
This change didn’t come out of nowhere. Since its 2021 reveal, the F-150 Lightning has faced challenges. The much-hyped $40,000 price never became a realistic option for most buyers, and sales hovered around 7,000 units per quarter, with a brief peak in late 2024. At the same time, a brutal EV price war led by Tesla squeezed profits across the industry, while political shifts in Washington weakened federal support for electric vehicle adoption.
In the end, Ford’s message is clear. The future will still be electrified, but it will be more cautious, more flexible, and far more focused on what customers are actually buying today.
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