All-new Ford F-150 Lightning now generates 588 PS

Ford pumps up the power and cargo carrying capacity of F-150 Lightning

Last year, Ford surprised everyone when they took the covers off the F-150 Lightning. Serving as the Blue Oval's electric pickup truck, it will compete against the Chevy Silverado EV, the upcoming Ram 1500 EV, and the controversial Tesla Cybertruck.

When it was first revealed last year, the Lightning already produced an impressive 432 PS in the Standard Range while the Extended Range makes more at 571 PS. When it comes to payload, Ford was aiming to give the electric pickup a 2,000 lbs (or 907 kg) cargo carrying capacity. While these figures are already enough for the F-150 Lightning, Ford was able to squeeze out more power and carrying capacity from the zero-emissions truck.

That's right, the F-150 Lightning now cranks out more power and has an improved payload capacity over last year's initial figures. This was confirmed by the Blue Oval after the company officially started production of the new EV pickup.

Starting with the Standard Range, power is now up from 432 PS to 458 PS which translates to an increase of 26 PS. As for the Extended Range, it now generates 588 PS which is 17 PS more than what it originally produced. Torque, on the other hand, remains the same for both the Standard and Extended F-150 Lightning models which are both rated to crank out 1,050 Nm of pull.

Thanks to the increase in power, Ford was also able to up the F-150 Lightning's payload capacity. From the original 2,000 lbs (907 kg), the Lightning can now haul a total of 2,235 lbs (or 1,014 kg) of payload. However, Ford says the extra payload capacity will only apply to properly equipped F-150 Lightning trucks.

“We were seriously focused on raising the bar on this truck, including after we revealed it, so we can deliver more for our customers. And our drive for continuous improvement will get a big boost when we start getting feedback and ideas from customers when they receive their Lightnings,” said Dapo Adewusi, F-150 Lightning vehicle engineering manager.

But since the electric pick-up now doles out more power, does this mean its overall range has been affected? Surprisingly, Ford says the Extended Range model can now cover 320 miles (or 515 km) which is better compared to last year's 300-mile (or 482 km) range. Ford did not mention whether the Standard model will continue to have the 230 miles (or 370 km) of cruising range, however.

With the production of the F-150 Lightning now in full swing, could we actually get our hands on Ford's electric pickup truck? There's no word yet from Ford Philippines, but with all 2023 F-150 Lightning orders sold out, it might take a long while before it could actually make its way across the Pacific, assuming it does arrive in the country that is.