Ford is set to deliver their first 2022 F-150 Lightning EV trucks to customers on April 26th. That’s a wee bit earlier than originally announced (May 2022). In a time of delays due to COVID-19 and supply chain issues, Ford has done the nearly impossible: get a new vehicle off the line early! 

The EV truck, which begins production this month at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Mich., was an instant success story, gathering 44,500 reservations in less than 48 hours in May 2021. By December, the wildly popular model had taken in 200,000 reservations forcing Ford to close down its reservation system (it remains closed). The automaker, which had plans to build 150,000 Lightning EV trucks a year, is already ramping up production numbers to meet demand. 

The F-150 Lightning has some stiff competition but one advantage the truck has over rival EV pickups already in production, like the Rivian R1T and GMC Hummer EV, is a starting price of $39,974. The R1T starts at $73,000 and the Hummer EV at $112,595.

The pick-up has a range of roughly 320 miles.

To celebrate, Ford and UAW leaders are throwing a Ford F-150 Lightning Premiere for customers and employees on April 26 at Rouge River, and will be delivering the first Lightnings to customers hot off the line.

The event will be live-streamed on Ford's YouTube channel at 1:30 p.m. EST, April 26.