'Tesla Killer' Ford Electric Truck Gains Popularity Amid Moon Jae-in and Biden's Favor

F-150 Lightning, 20,000 Reservations Within 12 Hours of Unveiling
Biden's Key Pledge Seen as Major Factor in Electric Vehicle Expansion
Biden Test Drives at Ford Plant... Moon to Visit SK Battery Factory
US Media Predicts Victory Over Tesla Cybertruck
Potential Showcase for K-Battery Power

Jim Farley, CEO of Ford Motor Company, is posing in front of the F-150 Lightning truck.
[Photo by AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] Ford's F-150 Lightning electric truck reportedly received as many as 20,000 pre-orders within a day of its unveiling. This truck, which has attracted attention from both South Korean and U.S. political circles, is expected to have a significant impact on K-battery as it uses batteries from SK Innovation.

Biden Test Drives... Moon Visits Battery Plant

On the 20th (local time), Jim Farley, CEO of Ford, stated in an interview with CNBC that about 20,000 reservations were made within 12 hours after revealing the specifications and price of the F-150 Lightning the previous night. Ford plans to start selling the F-150 Lightning next year and is accepting a $100 reservation fee. The starting price is $39,000.

The F-150 Lightning drew attention as U.S. President Joe Biden even visited the factory and test drove it.

In a situation where the Biden administration is pursuing an all-in strategy for electric vehicles, pickup trucks hold an important position. Pickup trucks are vehicles used in various fields such as leisure and construction sites. They are the most profitable vehicle type, making them a focus for most automakers.

Despite the introduction of affordable Model 3 and Model Y, Tesla is still perceived as a brand mainly for high-income earners, so the launch of the F-150 Lightning is expected to ignite the popularization of electric vehicles.

Ford's F-Series sold over 700,000 units last year, ranking first in U.S. vehicle sales. The second and third best-selling vehicles were Chevrolet Silverado and Ram Pickup, respectively.

Since pickup trucks are favored by white American workers, their political influence cannot be ignored. For various reasons, political interest is inevitably high.

The reason the U.S. government intervened to mediate the battery dispute between SK Innovation and LG Energy Solution is related to this.

There is also great interest on our side. South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who is visiting the U.S. for a South Korea-U.S. summit, is also expected to visit SK Innovation's battery plant in Georgia, which supplies batteries for the F-150 Lightning.

U.S. President Joe Biden is test-driving the F-150 Lightning truck.
[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

For this reason, both the company and the investment community have paid close attention to the reservation performance of the F-150 Lightning.

Ford also emphasizes that the profitability of selling the F-150 Lightning is sufficient. This is interpreted as an attempt to highlight that electric vehicles made by traditional automakers differ from Tesla, which profits from selling carbon emission credits rather than vehicles.

Expected Fierce Competition with Tesla Cybertruck

Tesla's unveiling of the Cybertruck in 2019 heralded the electric vehicle era for pickup trucks.

Tesla announced it would sell the Cybertruck, featuring a design distinct from traditional pickup trucks, for about $40,000. The starting prices of the Cybertruck and the F-150 Lightning are virtually the same.

The two vehicles are likely to engage in fierce competition after next year.

While the Cybertruck breaks the conventional rules of pickup trucks, the F-150 Lightning maintains tradition while upgrading to electric power.

The exterior of the F-150 Lightning is not significantly different from internal combustion engine vehicles. Unlike the existing F-150, it features a larger LCD control panel.

With the engine removed, the traditional engine compartment has been transformed into a large trunk. Although it is a truck, it now has both the traditional cargo bed and an additional trunk.

The most important difference is that the vehicle's battery can be used as an external power source. Ford claims that a fully charged F-150 Lightning can supply power to a home for three days and up to 10 days with intermittent power supply.

This means that even during the power outage that struck Texas earlier this year, having an F-150 Lightning could have prevented the crisis. Foreign media have introduced it as a vehicle needed by Texas residents.

New York citizens line up to see the Cybertruck displayed at the Tesla store.
[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

The F-150 Lightning is equipped with features emphasized by Tesla, such as wireless updates and some autonomous driving functions. As an electric vehicle, it boasts powerful acceleration, reaching 100 km/h from a standstill in just 4.4 seconds.

The U.S. automotive media outlet The Input predicted that the winner in the competition between the F-150 and the Cybertruck will be the F-150.

They pointed out that the Cybertruck still struggles to compete with the F-150 in terms of brand recognition and customer loyalty. The Input evaluated that while Ford calls the F-150 Lightning the truck of the future, it is actually the truck of the present.

However, the potential of the Cybertruck cannot be ignored. A recent example is the long lines that formed in New York City to see the unveiled Cybertruck. There is great anticipation that the innovative Cybertruck will change the future of pickup trucks.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.