Ford F-150 Lightning EV to launch April 26

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. will launch its F-150 Lightning electric pickup April 26, CEO Jim Farley said Wednesday on Twitter.

The automaker plans an event that day at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Michigan to celebrate the official start of production and first customer deliveries, which are expected soon afterward.

"We will be celebrating the team behind this incredible vehicle and that F-150 Lightnings will be on their way to customers across America," spokeswoman Emma Bergg said in an email.

The event will be livestreamed and feature a select group of customers, Bergg said.

Ford has capped Lightning reservations at about 200,000 vehicles, although executives have not yet said how many reservation holders have converted to orders. The company has said more than 70 percent of Lightning reservation holders are new to Ford and to pickups.

"I do think it's a game-changer," Ford CFO John Lawler said Wednesday during a Bank of America presentation. "The demand we've seen is incredible."

Ford plans to build up to 150,000 Lightnings a year by mid-2023, nearly quadruple the capacity it had originally planned.

The pickup, which starts at $70,095 including shipping, will have up to 515 kilometres of battery range, according to final EPA estimates released last month.