Going that route was beneficial; Ford got an electric pickup to market far sooner than competitors. But the F-150 Lightning is hamstrung by its combustion-oriented platform. With competitors like the Silverado EV, the GMC Sierra EV and the Ram 1500 REV, GM and Stellantis are skipping the "F-150 Lightning" development stage to build new, ground-up electric trucks on dedicated EV platforms. Those trucks — when they get to market — will exceed the range and capability of the F-150 Lightning. But Ford has no plans to be caught flat-footed.
During the production launch for the F-150 Lightning, Ford CEO Jim Farley confirmed that Ford was already working on a new EV truck to match competitors. For now, Ford is publicly referring to the truck under code name "Project T3," which stands for "Trust The Truck." We expect the truck to receive some form of F-Series branding.
Here's everything we know about Ford's Project T3 electric truck so far.
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The electric F-Series could have some innovative frunk storage options
Ford
Motortrend hasuncovered a Ford patent application from December 2023 showing storage solutions for an electric pickup's frunk. Drawings depict cubbies to store tools or other items and, more interestingly, a slide-out drawer integrated into the front fascia.
That design would not work with the current design of the F-150 Lightning. So a presumable application for this design would be on Ford's next-generation electric pickup. The drawings depict a cab-over design — think kind of like the Tesla Cybertruck — but we think that may be for illustration; the T3 will likely look more like a conventional pickup.
The new Ford electric pickup will arrive in 2025
Ford has confirmed that it will begin building the new electric pickup at its Blue Oval City EV plant in Tennessee in 2025. Ford revealed the F-150 Lightning about a year before it entered production. So it's conceivable we could meet the new truck in 2024.
What specs will the Ford Project T3 electric pickup have?
Ford
Ford hasn't gone into specifics yet on Project T3. But the brand has alluded to several items. Expect Ford's EV truck to have a digital platform for over-the-air software updates, faster charging, a longer range than the Lightning's 320 miles, the latest edition of Blue Cruise hands-free driving and for the truck to be even better at charging your home.
One interesting contention is that the truck will be "impossibly quick," which suggests it will be quicker than the F-150 Lightning. Keep in mind that the F-150 Lightning can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 4 seconds flat.
Ford likened Project T3 to the Millennium Falcon
Ford
Ford hasn't really gone into specifics yet about the new truck's capabilities. But Jim Farley did compare the new truck to the Millennium Falcon.
"PJ O’Rourke once described American pickups as ‘a back porch with an engine attached.’ Well, this new truck is going to be like the Millennium Falcon – with a back porch attached," Farley said.
We will assume Farley is not taking the Star Wars reference too literally and is just attempting to portray that the truck will be impressively quick and capable.
Production capacity should not be the issue with Ford's new electric truck
It sounds like that won't be an issue with the Project T3 truck, noting that Blue Oval City will eventually be able to produce 500,000 electric trucks per year.
Will there be smaller versions of the Project T3 electric truck?
Ford filed trademark applications for "F-150 Thunder," "Ranger Thunder" and "Maverick Thunder," which could be a potential name for the trucks. Thunder does come after lightning, after all.
Will the new electric truck kill off the F-150 Lightning?
