The much anticipated all-electric Ford F150 lightning is set to debut in Australia before the end of the month thanks to Australian EV distributer AusEV.
The company claims it’s the first right-hand drive pickup in the world, and while Ford dealerships in Australia are yet to stock any of the all-electric pickups, AusEV has stepped in to fill the gap and will begin selling the right-hand drive model here by the end of April.
The Driven spoke with AusEV but they wouldn’t yet confirm prices or what sort of volume they’re expecting, but they did say pricing will be revealed during the upcoming launch in 10 days time. Until then they’re taking expressions of interest through their website.
In the meantime, AusEV have allowed one Australian auto journalist a brief ride in one of the vehicles, who have it a positive review on his website.
The F150 Lightning is a duel-motor, four-wheel drive machine with combined power output of 432kW. AusEV is offering two versions, a long-range which has a 131 kWh battery pack which has a range of 510 km and a standard range 98 kWh version with 370 km range.
According to GoAuto, which tested the RHD model in Brisbane, the long-range Lightning can do 0-100 in about four seconds flat, around two seconds faster than the diesel Ford Ranger Raptor, which takes around 6 seconds.
“The F-150 Lightning we tried was every bit as good as we could have hoped,” says GoAuto.
“It is hard not to be a big fan of the current generation Ford Ranger Raptor, with its 292kW powertrain and off-road racing suspension setup, but the F-150 Lightning blitzes it in terms of outright performance.”
Advanced Manufacturing Queensland conversions
The right-hand drive models that AusEV will offer are converted left-hand drives by Brisbane based Advanced Manufacturing Queensland (AMQ).
“We are thrilled to have contributed to making this happen, which is a giant leap forward for the Australian Auto market.” said AMQ in a LinkedIn post regarding the Australian debut.
In a recent video, AMQ showcases footage of some of the F150 Lightning conversions.
After a long wait, finally Australia will have some fully electric utes on the road.
Daniel Bleakley is a clean technology researcher and advocate with a background in engineering and business. He has a strong interest in electric vehicles, renewable energy, manufacturing and public policy.