Ford’s F-150 Lightning is MotorTrend’s truck of 2023, marking the second year in a row that an all-electric model has won the coveted title.
MotorTrend, which attributed its choice to safety, performance and wide appeal, said the Lightning is the first EV pickup to attract the existing truck market.
“While a whole cadre of first-time truck buyers will be drawn to the Rivians of the world, a much smaller segment of the traditional pickup truck market will be interested in making the switch,” the magazine said.
“Beyond their differing expectations of what a truck should do and what it should be used for, there's enormous brand loyalty among truck owners. Convincing those consumers to switch not only to an EV but also to an entirely new brand is a monumental task.”
It said the Lightning “successfully bridges the gulf between the powertrain of the future and the pickup of today in a way no other EV truck on the market has accomplished.”
MotorTrend said that one of the Lightning’s accomplishments is that it doesn’t “scream, ‘I’m green’” as other EV trucks do for marketing purposes and “aerodynamic efficiencies.”
“It’s the first and (for now) only electric truck for ‘truck people,’” it said.
The F series of traditional and electric trucks has long been the best-selling vehicle in the U.S.
