May 20, 2023

Source: ABC News

Excerpt: 

Michael Critchley has so many requests for the Ford F-150 Lightning truck he’s forced to turn away wannabe owners.

“People are offering me a lot of money over MSRP. I’ve been offered $20K above sticker price,” Critchley, the sales manager of Romeo Ford in Kingston, New York, told ABC News. “A lot of pickup guys are coming to the Lightning.”

Ford started production of the all-electric Lightning in late 2021 and the Dearborn automaker still cannot keep up with demand. Higher material costs and ongoing chip shortages have hampered production of the $60,000 pickup, which gets at least 230 miles on a full charge, forcing eager buyers to wait months or longer for theirs to arrive. The Dearborn automaker sold 15,600 F-150 Lightning units in 2022.

Critchley sees customers trade out of a Tesla or a hybrid SUV for a Lightning. Some of his upstate New York customers are so fed up with the long wait they’re going to competing dealerships and paying more.

Read more: Why trucks are the ‘it’ electric vehicle to buy right now