The Ford F-150 Lightning is a curious vehicle. Engineered to basically be an F-150 with an electric motor, it was a good faith effort at shortcutting its way into the electric truck market. It didn’t quite work as planned, and an ill-timed fire at the automaker’s aluminum supplier basically doomed the slow-selling Lightning. Now that Ford isn’t making them, they’re in high demand.
Today is, obviously, the 10th anniversary of the knighting of Rod Stewart, so I might keep The Morning Dump a little briefer than usual.
While used Lightnings are selling well, new BMWs continue to dominate the luxury market in the United States. The UAW ticket led by Shawn Fain absolutely cleaned up in elections, so I should talk about that. And China and the EU have come to a deal on hybrids.
The Best Proof That The EVs Are Just Too Damn Expensive
I don’t think I’ve driven an F-150 Lightning, but I remember David rraving about it when it first appeared on the market. This was a vehicle that made a lot of compromises in order to share parts with the normal F-150, which wasn’t a bad strategy. Given that the F-150 Lightning was initially priced at a level somewhat competitive with gas-powered trucks, it seemed possible that the Lightning could have been a hit.
Relative to other electric trucks, the Lightning did well, it’s just that there wasn’t enough demand for new electric trucks that cost upwards of $60,000. Even when Ford lowered the cost of the Lightning it wasn’t enough to stoke sufficient volume to offset all the money the company was losing building them.
When Ford’s main aluminum supplier caught on fire (twice), the resulting shutdown hit F-150 production hard, and the company prioritized profitable gas pickup trucks over unprofitable EVs, eventually killing the Lightning.
Now that you can no longer buy a new Lightning (unless one is hiding on a lot somewhere), the truck is suddenly extremely popular. As my old buddy Kyle Stock reports, it’s Lightning Time:
The typical Lightning is changing hands in about 20 days in the U.S., versus 44 days for the average used vehicle. The price has steadily risen to $50,000, an increase of 4% since the start of the year, according to Edmunds.com.
And nearly one-third of used Lightnings are being sold by dealerships that peddle other brands. Typically, those stores would flip a used Ford to a Ford dealer, according to Douglas, but many are electing to list the car directly to tap red-hot demand.
Chase Norris, a county planner in Colorado ski country, recently ditched his gas F-150 for a used Lightning. At $40,000, he considered the vehicle both a major upgrade and a bargain.
This is the best evidence yet for there being some demand for electric vehicles once you knock a few percentage points off the cost. The running costs are also probably much lower if you can charge at home and avoid expensive gas.
If this is a good sign for anyone, it’s Ford itself, which is about to reveal the much cheaper Ford Fathom electric pickup truck.
BMW’s Pretty Good Year
BMW is the one German automaker I think is doing it generally right. I know that not everyone is on board with every decision the brand makes. As an E39 owner I have feelings about new BMWs. Those feelings are never sadness or disgust, however. And when I get to drive one I remember how much I still enjoy them.
That’s showing up in sales, with BMW extending its overall lead in the luxury space with more than 100,000 sales in Q3, which is a little more than Lexus (93k), and Mercedes-Benz (76k). Audi sales aren’t out yet, though it’s clear they’ll still be low.
How’s the brand doing it? Here are some details via Automotive News:
“Our dealers and our brand continue to buck the trend of what’s happening in the premium space overall,” Tom Shanley, BMW of North America’s executive vice president of operations, told Automotive News.
U.S. sales of the 3 Series jumped 46 percent to 11,256 in the third quarter.
“That’s one of our most affordable vehicles for an entry point in the premium space,” Shanley said. “That really drove some additional performance.”
The market for luxury crossovers and SUVs continues to be robust, Shanley said, with the BMW X3, X5, X6 and X7 each posting gains in the third quarter. BMW dealers will receive a key product this month with the launch of the redesigned X5 crossover.
Good, reasonably (for what they are) priced cars, across a large range of segments, isn’t a bad way to do it.
Shawn Fain Easily Wins Four More Years As UAW President
United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain’s hard-nosed tactics helped his union win historic contracts with automakers. Those same tactics seem to be a little more problematic within the union, with the court-appointed monitor singling out Fain for retaliating against people who disagreed with him or he didn’t like.
Members of the UAW didn’t seem to be bothered by the alleged transgressions.
The incumbent UAW president claimed victory in a news release late Friday, Oct. 9. Fain was overwhelmingly reelected by UAW members in the union’s leadership elections, securing the post with over 68% of the vote. Rich Boyer, the UAW’s current vice president who has been at odds with Fain for years, came in second place with just over 13% of the vote. In total, nearly 100,000 votes were cast.
It is a striking referendum on the popularity of Fain, who led the union through widely publicized strikes against the Detroit Three automakers in 2023 just months after taking office for the first time. Fain has catapulted into the political circuit, too, becoming a common figure at rallies for pro-labor Democrat politicians and candidates.
Success is alluring.
EU Limits Hybrid Imports
The EU was so laser focused on Chinese EVs it sort of forgot to regulate Chinese hybrids. It sounds like resolution to this issue is coming, with the European Union restricting hybrids to 350,000 imported per year. In theory, this applies to everyone, in practice, this is about Chinese cars.
Still, that’s a lot of cars, and a victory for Chinese automakers. What does the EU get out of it?
In parallel, China will remove tariffs on some auto parts and halve duties for shoes, ice-cream and olive oil, the document says. Those moves, which will also apply temporarily, would cover about €4 billion worth of exports.
The two sides will also discuss ways to ease export controls and licenses, in particular regarding the supply of rare earths and permanent magnets, according to the document. The EU and China also agreed to exchange more information on their respective export restrictions.
Ice cream! Olive Oil!
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
Well, now that I said it, here’s Sir Rod Stewart with “Young Turks.” Young hearts, be free tonight.
The Big Question
What’s the best used EV deal right now?
Top photo: Ford
I was scoping used Lucids which have to be up there in total depreciation from a dollars perspective, but those are pretty rare. The best deal in used EVs that’s readily available is freshly off-lease 2 years old EV Blazers with 18k miles in the mid-to-high 20s. Lots of EVquinoxes there as well, but the blazer was more expensive out of the gate so that’s basically half price for a barely used car.
The prices on used F150 lightnings certainly reflect that the demand is there for an affordable EV truck. I’ve seen a few more EV Silverados around recently (which probably sold with big incentives) but in my neighborhood there have been a few new F-150 lightnings in the last year or so. The interest is still there and maybe the price is more palatable as everything else has skyrocketed in price.
Also, I seem to remember a lot of shit-talking when Ford raised prices during the pandemic when supply chains and chip prices were fucking everyone over. A lot of “the new Silverado EV is going to crush the Lightning” because of price and range….
Oh shocker. Now that the Lightning is selling at the mythical $40k they teased it would start at they are actually moving. I knew I dude in a Civic that was stoked for a $40k Lightning but obviously that never materialized.
I rented a Lightning in TX a month or so ago. It was way more vehicle than I needed, but I didn’t have to wait at the counter for a return to come in. It is unabashedly big and fast/powerful. Charging was the problem – I never got near stranded but quality fast chargers were rare where I was staying and I know I overpaid and had to wait at times. To add insult to injury, my hotel had a half dozen Tesla superchargers that I could not use (don’t expect Avis to throw in the adaptor cable).
It’s criminal rental agencies don’t even throw in a level 1 cable with their EV rentals.
I was sitting for 30 or so minutes a day at the 65kw unit at a Hyundai dealer 3 miles away.
Charging cost me over an hour on my drive to IAH rental return.
Is the QOD cash or finance or lease? How Used?
If I could get a $20-25K new EV I would this week. $35-40K is just too much for a in town run about.
Looks like the UAW would fain vote for Fain.
TBQ: I think this question might actually be unanswerable.
Given how much EVs vary in function (i.e. range and availability/convenience of fast charging), the best deal is highly dependent on how you intend to use it. Drive locally only short distances? 1G Leaf with 9 or more bars. Drive locally slightly longer distances? Any mid-range, forgettable, non-Tesla EV (2G Leaf, Bolt, Kona, etc.). Road trips? Model 3/Y long range. Something to haul stuff? F150 Lightning. Something luxurious? Model S.
I no longer own an EV, mostly because I don’t find currently available affordable-ish EVs interesting. I am also more interested in an EREV because I do a lot of very long road trips. As of now, I anticipate trading in my F250 on an EREV pickup when one becomes available. The upcoming EREV Lightning sounds very interesting, but I would also consider a Ram 1500 EREV (though the craptacular reliability of 4xe models makes me nervous; hopefully Stellantis can do better with their second effort) or the Scout Terra or Traveler (assuming these happen at all).
Chase Norris drives an electric F150, always in the shadow of Chuck, driving that badass Walker Texas Ranger Ram
Did Ford ever breakout the sales number of the F150 Lightning?
When it was released they seemed very popular. Even now, I easily see more than twice the number of F150 Lightning EVs on the road in my area than Cybertrucks, Rivians, Ev Silverado/Sierras combined.
We even have quite a few vendors of ours that use them as light industrial delivery vehicles. It was kind of nice that they look like normal trucks, too (and weren’t oddly proportioned like the GM ones).
They seemed very successful here, and it makes me wonder if there’s another reason why Ford killed it off
Hearing that song today makes me feel so old…
I bought a new ’24 Mustang Mach E in December 2024. I primarily use it to commute about 70 miles each day. I REALLY wanted an F-150 Lightning, but just could not justify spending the extra $20k on it vs what I paid for my MME.
The F-150 would have been great. I wanted (but absolutely do not need 99% of the time) a truck. I wanted something that was economical for my long commute, also. So, had to go with the MME which I still enjoy and am glad I got since gas is higher that Snoop.
I hope my next vehicle can be an electric truck.
Since gas prices went up and new cars are way more expensive, used EVs are getting more expensive. I was able to get almost 18K for my 23 Bolt EUV that I paid around 22K after tax credit and other GM discounts.
My recommendation is a Polestar 2 since its a dead brand soon in the US but with the support from Volvo, their value tanked.
“Today is, obviously, the 10th anniversary of the knighting of Rod Stewart, so I might keep The Morning Dump a little briefer than usual.”
Heavy drinking while watching the Matchbox cars movie is unrelated, right?
I still think the Audi E-tron GT’s are the best used EV deals