Ford’s F-150 Lightning Sales Jumped 40% Just as Ford Announced Its Retirement

Ford‘s F-150 Lightning is bowing on a high note. In Q3 2025, sales climbed nearly 40% year over year, giving Ford its strongest electric truck quarter yet and placing the Lightning ahead of every rival EV pickup. Although the expired EV incentive undoubtedly played a role in its Q3 performance, its success still caught us off guard, considering many thought it would struggle long-term. Yet only a few weeks ago, Ford confirmed the Lightning is officially being retired and replaced by an extended-range electric successor.

The F-Series Remains America’s Favorite Truck

The internal-combustion F-Series lineup is the best-selling full-size pickup truck for the year, totaling 197,727 sales in Q3, bringing total sales for 2025 up to 597,546 units – but the Lightning’s figures are what stood out. In the same period, Ford delivered 10,005 Lightning models, up from 7,162 in the previous year. The rest of the EV truck segment has been shaky. Tesla Cybertruck sales slipped to 7,100 units, Rivian R1T fell off sharply with an 85% drop, while GM’s Silverado EV and Sierra EV showed strong percentage growth. In essence, the Lightning became the EV truck buyers trusted most in 2025.

Ford Ditches EVs for EREVs

Despite the sales success, Ford is shifting away from a fully electric truck strategy and toward extended-range electric vehicles. These upcoming models will use electric motors with a combustion-based generator that recharges the battery on the move – basically the inverse of a plug-in hybrid. The idea behind it is to allow for long-distance towing and road trips without planning charging stops to address one of the biggest EV truck criticisms: range anxiety. And with EV demand cooling across the industry, an EREV approach might be more aligned with how Americans actually use their trucks.

A High Note That Sets Up The Next Chapter

It is unusual to see a vehicle peak just as it exits the market, but the Lightning’s late surge came at a time when EV incentives were expiring, and buyers were rushing to secure that $7,500 benefit. Even so, it proved that the appetite for electric trucks exists when capability, familiarity, and convenience are all in check. If Ford nails the execution with its next-gen EREV trucks, it could be what switches many hardcore traditional truck fanatics from fossil fuels to electric assistance.