Ford CEO Jim Farley launched into an EV highway journey in an F-150 Lightning pickup truck to realize perception into the experiences of Ford’s EV clients.

Farley and his occasion set off this week from Silicon Valley, driving south to Los Angeles after which west to Las Vegas, traversing elements of the long-lasting Route 66 alongside the best way, the Ford CEO wrote in a LinkedIn publish. Among the many deliberate stops shall be a charging station that Farley says prompted Ford’s deal to undertake the Tesla cost port, referred to as the North American Charging Normal (NACS), for future EVs.

2023 Ford F-150 Lightning

Alongside the best way, Farley plans to go to “researchers, companies, sellers, salespeople, EV conversion retailers, EV drivers, and communities” and use the identical roads and charging infrastructure as strange EV drivers, with a purpose to be taught concerning the real-world expertise of EV use. Farley famous that earlier in his profession at Toyota, he utilized insights from one other highway journey to enhancing the automaker’s bread-and-butter Camry midsize sedan.

“Listening is how we be taught,” Farley stated, “and that is what we’ll be doing from the highway.”

Ford F-150 Lightning at Tesla Supercharger

Farley could already concentrate on one of many largest points within the present EV local weather. In a dialogue of Ford’s quarterly earnings report final week, he confirmed the automaker is reducing its 2023 EV manufacturing targets. Farley pointed to price as the primary cause, saying that greater than 30% of customers intend to purchase an EV, however that top buy costs are holding many potential clients again. He beforehand pointed to the beginning of an EV worth conflict earlier this yr.

The F-150 Lightning has received the approval of truck consumers and media—in a primary drive we discovered it to be nothing wanting revolutionary—but it surely’s additionally a poster baby for EV worth inflation. Whereas Ford in July lowered the worth of the Lightning by $9,979 on the bottom Professional mannequin, it had beforehand raised costs 4 occasions for the reason that truck’s launch in April 2022. Even with the worth lower, the present base worth of $51,990 (together with a $1,995 vacation spot cost) continues to be 25% larger than the $41,669 base worth from the time of its introduction.