Ford CEO Jim Farley admits electric F-150 Lightning will 'have to improve' after he waited 40 MINUTES to get the battery up to 40% in $50,000 truck
- Auto chief admits 'reality check' in his company's pioneering electric vehicle
- Government wants two thirds of new vehicle sales to be electric by 2032
- Customers 'increasingly frustrated' by lack of charging infrastructure
The boss of Ford suffered a ‘reality check’ already familiar to his customers when he spent the best part of an hour waiting for his flagship $50,000 electric vehicle to charge.
CEO Jim Farley set off on a road trip down Route 66 to showcase the company’s cutting edge electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck.
Posting regular updates on Twitter and LinkedIn he headed from Palo Alto, California to Las Vegas but admitted facing an uphill struggle.
‘I stopped at one of the most popular charging sites in the country, I-5 in Coalinga, and a low speed charger took me about 40 minutes to get 40 per cent,’ he told his followers.
‘It was a really good reality check of what our customers go through and the importance of fast charging and what we’re going to have to do to improve the charging experience.’
Ford hailed 200,000 advance orders for the truck when was unveiled in May 2021 in what the company described as a ‘Model T moment for the 21st Century’.
With a range of up to 320 miles on a single charge it became the cornerstone of the company’s drive to produce 2million electric vehicles by 2026.
But with a $50,000 price tag it is $15,000 more expensive than the gasoline fueled version and leaves customers at the mercy of long recharging times.
Just 15 per cent of charging points allow rapid charging, according to the latest figures from the US Department of Energy, though last month the government promised another 30,000 by 2032.
Some early adopters have bought home charging stations, but the popular JuiceBox 40 costs around $650, and the ChargePoint Home Flex, about $750 with installation costs adding up to $6,000 to the bill.
President Biden is pushing for two-thirds of new vehicle sales be electric by 2032 but consumers have been slow to heed the call with Ford selling just 6,280 electric vehicles in July compared to 155,912 with an internal combustion engine.
Lauren Fix, analyst at the Car Coach, said: 'A lack of charging infrastructure is a major negative factor and consumers are increasingly frustrated.
'Charging stations are limited, very few fast chargers are available, and many of those that are accessible don’t work.
Ford boss Jim Farley had a frank admission for his customers after running into charging problems
The company hailed its electric F150 Lightning as a 'Model T moment for the 21st century'
Get your pics: Farley and his son at the beginning of his road trip on the iconic highway
Farley called in at garages and dealerships on his trip including a century-old family firm
But he had to get up at 3am at one stop to ensure he had enough power for a day's driving
'Really warm and really cold temperatures also shorten the battery life - especially when you use climate control - and can reduce the life by a third.'
Back on the road, Mr. Farley needed another top-up later in the day, hailing a ‘great experience’ with a 350kw charger at a stop in Baker, California.
‘It is kind of exciting to get all these speedy electrons in the battery because we’ve only had the slow speed chargers so this is very exciting,’ he said.
‘It really highlighted the difference that nice stations and fast charging can make on the overall EV experience.’
