Ford F-150 Lightning EV wins Motor Trend Truck of the Year

Correction: this story has been updated to note the Rivian R1T pickup was Motor Trend truck of the year in 2022.

It’s another big step in the mainstreaming of EVs in America.

Motor Trend magazine named the Ford F-150 Lightning EV its 2023 Truck of the Year. It’s the first time an EV has been the unanimous choice for the Truck of the Year award among Motor Trend judges.

It’s not the first time Motor Trend has named an EV an overall winner, last year it awarded the Lucid Air EV as its 2022 Car of the year, and Rivian R1T pickup its truck of the year.

Ford says F-150 Lightning is America’s best-selling electric truck in November, with sales totaling 2,062. Since Ford started delivering the Lightning in May, sales have totaled 13,258. Ford is now the No. 2 EV brand by sales in the U.S. year to date, behind Tesla.

Before tax incentives, the Ford F-150 Lightning starts at $51,974 in base Pro model trim, which features dual motors, 240 miles of range, and 452hp. Going up a trim level to XLT and adding an extended battery (bumping up range to 320 miles and hp to 580) will set buyers back nearly $81,000 before any tax incentives.

Though the Lightning isn’t cheap, Ford’s better-equipped ICE-powered F-150’s aren’t either. The combination of the Lightning’s features, capability, and performance made the choice easy for Motor Trend judges.

“[The F-150 Lightning] offers a host of features no gas- or diesel-powered truck can match. Be it for the campsite, the job site, or the homestead, the Lightning offers up a world of new possibilities for truck owners all while saving them money at the pump and likely at the repair shop, too. It's a bargain many are going to find exceedingly easy to live with,” Motor Trend’s Scott Evans writes.

Ford says it is ramping up production and deliveries of the F-150 Lightning at its Rouge complex in Dearborn, Michigan, with the target being 150,000 Lightning EVs delivered by the end of next year.

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Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on Twitter and on Instagram.

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