Ford wants to draw in buyers from rival brands. Its latest target is pickup truck drivers, specifically Ram owners. Ford is offering Ram owners up to $2,000 off if they switch to its F-150 Lightning.
Ford targets Ram Truck owners with new offer
After selling another 7,162 Lightning models in the third quarter, Ford has now sold over 22,800 electric pickups in the US through September.
With new competition hitting the market, such as Tesla’s Cybertruck, the Chevy Silverado EV, and the GMC Sierra EV, Ford looks to keep its share of the market.
Ford already offers Tesla drivers up to $1,500 off 2023 and 2024 F-150 Lightning models. Now, it’s looking to attract owners from another rival brand, Ram.
According to online car research firm CarsDirect, Ford is offering Ram owners up to $2,000 off if they switch to an F-150, including the all-electric Lightning.
A note sent to dealers on October 8 stated the offer is good on 2023 and 2024 F-150 Lightning models. Although the largest $2,000 discount is in California, the deal is offered in several parts of the US, such as Atlanta, Denver, Boston, Chicago, and Dallas. Ford is offering a $1,000 discount in most other places.
2024 Ford F-150 Lightning Platinum Black Edition (Source: Ford)
Fending off incoming rivals
Although the F-series is still the best-selling vehicle in the US in 2024, sales were down 4% through the first nine months compared to 2023.
Ford was also recently overtaken by GM as the second best-selling EV brand in the US. With several new models rolling out like the Chevy Equinox, Blazer, and Silverado EVs, GM is gaining market share.
2025 Ram 1500 REV (Source: Ram)
Meanwhile, Ram is launching its first electric truck, the 2025 Ram 1500 REV. Ram’s first electric pickup will hit US dealerships in early 2025 with up to 350 miles range (standard 168 kWh battery). Ram said a larger 229 kWh battery will provide over 500 miles range.
2024 Ford F-150 Lightning trim
Starting Price
Range (EPA-est miles)
XLT
$62,995
240
Flash
$67,995
320
Lariat
$76,995
320
Platinum
$84,995
300
Platinum Black
$92,995
300
Updated 2024 Ford F-150 Lightning price and range by trim (*not including $2,095 destination fee)
Ram also claims its electric pickup can tow up to 14,000 lbs with a 2,700 lb max payload. Ford’s F-150 Lightning gets up to 320 miles EPA-est range with a towing capacity of up to 10,000 lbs.
The 2024 Ford F-150 Lightning starts at $62,995. Although Ram has yet to reveal prices, the 2025 Ram 1500 REV is expected to start at around $60,000.
As part of its new “Power Promise,” Ford is offering EV buyers, including the F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E, a free Level 2 home charge while covering the cost of installation.
After a month off trying to wrap our heads around all the chaos surrounding EVs, solar, and everything else in Washington, we’re back with the biggest EV news stories of the day from Tesla, Ford, Volvo, and everyone else on today’s hiatus-busting episode of Quick Charge!
It just gets worse and worse for the Tesla true believers – especially those willing to put their money where Elon’s mouth is! One believer is set to lose nearly $50,000 betting on Tesla’s ability to deliver a Robotaxi service by the end of June (didn’t happen), and the controversial CEO’s most recent spat with President Trump had TSLA down nearly 5% in pre-morning trading.
New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (and sometimes Sunday). We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news.
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Hyundai is getting ready to shake things up. A new electric crossover SUV, likely the Hyundai IONIQ 2, is set to debut in the coming months. It will sit below the Kona Electric as Hyundai expands its entry-level EV lineup.
Is Hyundai launching the IONIQ 2 in 2026?
After launching the Inster late last year, Hyundai is already preparing to introduce a new entry-level EV in Europe.
Xavier Martinet, President and CEO of Hyundai Europe, confirmed that the new EV will be revealed “in the next few months.” It will be built in Europe and scheduled to go on sale in mid-2026.
Hyundai’s new electric crossover is expected to be a twin to the Kia EV2, which will likely arrive just ahead of it next year.
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It will be underpinned by the same E-GMP platform, which powers all IONIQ and Kia EV models (EV3, EV4, EV5, EV6, and EV9).
Like the Kia EV3, it will likely be available with either a 58.3 kWh or 81.4 kWh battery pack option. The former provides a WLTP range of 267 miles while the latter is rated with up to 372 miles. All trims are powered by a single electric motor at the front, producing 201 hp and 209 lb-ft of torque.
Kia EV2 Concept (Source: Kia)
Although it may share the same underpinnings as the EV2, Hyundai’s new entry-level EV will feature an advanced new software and infotainment system.
According to Autocar, the interior will represent a “step change” in terms of usability and features. The new system enables new functions, such as ambient lighting and sounds that adjust depending on the drive mode.
Hyundai E&E tech platform powered by Pleos (Source: Hyundai)
It’s expected to showcase Hyundai’s powerful new Pleos software and infotainment system. As an end-to-end software platform, Pleos connects everything from the infotainment system (Pleos Connect) to the Vehicle Operating System (OS) and the cloud.
Pleos is set to power Hyundai’s upcoming software-defined vehicles (SDVs) with new features like autonomous driving and real-time data analysis.
Hyundai’s next-gen infotainment system powered by Pleos (Source: Hyundai)
As an Android-based system, Pleos Connect features a “smartphone-like UI” with new functions including multi-window viewing and an AI voice assistant.
The new electric crossover is expected to start at around €30,000 ($35,400), or slightly less than the Kia EV3, priced from €35,990 ($42,500). It will sit between the Inster and Kona Electric in Hyundai’s lineup.
Hyundai said that it would launch the first EV with its next-gen infotainment system in Q2 2026. Will it be the IONIQ 2? Hyundai is expected to unveil the new entry-level EV at IAA Mobility in September. Stay tuned for more info. We’ll keep you updated with the latest.
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Tesla has unveiled its lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery cell factory in Nevada and claims that it is nearly ready to start production.
Like several other automakers using LFP cells, Tesla relies heavily on Chinese manufacturers for its battery cell supply.
Tesla’s cheapest electric vehicles all utilize LFP cells, and its entire range of energy storage products, Megapacks and Powerwalls, also employ the more affordable LFP cell chemistry from Chinese manufacturers.
This reliance on Chinese manufacturers is less than ideal and particularly complicated for US automakers and battery pack manufacturers like Tesla, amid an ongoing trade war between the US and virtually the entire world, including China.
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As of last year, a 25% tariff already applied to battery cells from China, but this increased to more than 80% under Trump before he paused some tariffs on China. It remains unclear where they will end up by the time negotiations are complete and the trade war is resolved, but many expect it to be higher.
The automaker had secured older manufacturing equipment from one of its battery cell suppliers, CATL, and planned to deploy it in the US for small-scale production.
Tesla has now released new images of the factory in Nevada and claimed that it is “nearing completion”:
Here are a few images from inside the factory (via Tesla):
Previous reporting stated that Tesla aims to produce about 10 GWh of LFP battery cells per year at the new factory.
The cells are expected to be used in Tesla’s Megapack, produced in the US. Tesla currently has a capacity to produce 40 GWh of Megapacks annually at its factory in California. The company is also working on a new Megapack factory in Texas.
It’s nice to see this in the US. LFP was a US/Canada invention, with Arumugam Manthiram and John B. Goodenough doing much of the early work, and researchers in Quebec making several contributions to help with commercialization.
But China saw the potential early and invested heavily in volume manufacturing of LFP cells and it now dominates the market.
Tesla is now producing most of its vehicles with LFP cells and all its stationary energy storage products.
It makes sense to invest in your own production. However, Tesla is unlikely to catch up to BYD and CATL, which dominate LFP cell production.
The move will help Tesla avoid tariffs on a small percentage of its Megapacks produced in the US. Ford’s effort is more ambitious.
It’s worth noting that both Ford’s and Tesla’s LFP plants were planned before Trump’s tariffs, which have had limited success in bringing manufacturing back to the US.
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