The electric Ford F-150 Lightning is going global, and the first country it's headed outside of the U.S. and Canada will be Norway. Norway is one of the most EV-friendly countries where in 2022 almost 80 percent of new cars sold were EVs.
"When it comes to Lightning, we've had overwhelming demand since the start of the loans in the U.S. We have had customers literally banging on our doors also in my private home, demanding more or less for us to bring the Lightning to Norway," Per Gunnar Berg, managing director of Ford Norway told Newsweek.
"It's kind of a perfect match for this market. And it immediately established a public Facebook group where there are close to 4,000 members that are constantly writing and asking for us to bring it to Norway."
Berg also said that as opposed to Europe, though he said the capital city of Oslo was an exception, Norway is full of open spaces and wide roads, where the F-150 Lightning would easily fit. He noted that between the bed, the cab and the frunk, the Lightning worked as an SUV, a truck and a station wagon, all things Norwegians like.
This isn't the first Ford in Norway. The Ford Mustang Mach-E was launched there in April 2021. It was an immediate success and there is now close to 12,000 Mach-Es on Norwegian roads. From April 2021 until today, it has been in the top five selling electric vehicles in Norway. The Mach-E is now sold in 39 markets including the recently added Australia and Taiwan.
The United States exported 220,000 electric vehicles (including plug-in hybrids) in 2020, according to the International Council on Clean Transportation. About 67 percent of U.S. electric vehicle exports were sold to Europe, followed by 13 percent to Canada and 7 percent to rest of world, not including South Korea, China, Japan and Mexico which make up single digit percentages.
Of those vehicles, about three quarters were Tesla Model 3s and Model Xs. The remainder is made up of the Chevrolet Bolt, Nissan LEAF, and plug-ins BMW X5 45e and BMW X3 30e.
Demand for the F-150 Lightning has been massive, forcing Ford to build a new plant on top of the old one, then knock down walls and expand more. Darren Palmer, vice president, Electric Vehicle Programs, Ford Model e said that the company is planning to build 150,000 Lightnings this year. That number includes the ones going to Norway so availability for North America won't be affected.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Jake Lingeman is the Managing Editor for the Autos team at Newsweek. He has previously worked for Autoweek, The Detroit ... Read more
