When Ford announced the F-150 Lightning, the big story to come out of its press conference was the truck’s astonishing price. The automaker promised that the base Lightning Pro would start at under $40,000, but as we now know, it never hit that mark. Prices quickly climbed far higher than expected before Ford started cutting them again earlier this year. The automaker recently announced prices for the upcoming 2024 model, and we’re back to talking about price changes again, with the new 2024 F-150 Lightning seeing increases of several thousand dollars for some configurations.
- Pro: The work truck starts at $52,090 for 2024, up $2,095 over the most recent 2023 price — and a long way from the exceptionally reasonable price Ford outlined initially.
- XLT: $59,590, an increase of more than $2,500 from 2023’s numbers.
- Lariat: $79,590, up $9,595.
- Platinum: No 2024 pricing yet, but 2023’s model started at $91,995.
Ford has added a new Flash trim between the XLT and Lariat variants that starts at $72,090.
Given automakers’ track records with EV prices, it’s not surprising to see yet another change for the F-150 Lightning. That said, Ford is increasing prices at a time when some are eying price cuts and incentives to drive demand, with Tesla a notable example. It’s also worth noting that Ford has seen fluctuating demand for the truck in recent months, leading it to cut a production shift in October, just months after saying it would triple production this year.
So far, the F-150 Lightning has enjoyed limited competition from the Rivian R1T, but the electric truck scene is about to get a lot more crowded as the other domestic automakers get in on the action. Chevrolet and GMC are nearing the release of the Silverado and Sierra EVs, and Ram is expected to release the 1500 REV later in 2024.
Pricing and demand for all EVs may shift in the coming months, however, as further changes to federal tax credit rules will allow buyers to use their year-end tax credits as down payments. That could spike demand early in the year, especially for expensive EVs like the F-150 Lightning, but top trims will remain out of reach for a majority of buyers.
