My opinion regarding F150 Lightning and future EREV.

My background: EV battery SME and >20 years engagement with auto industry, >7M vehicles will be produced within 180 miles of my hometown, increase than to 400 miles, the number jump to 13M. I don't have inside info, the following is pure speculation based on my expertise.

Why F150 Lightning failed: Expensive (15-20K over comparable ICE model), poor towing mileage, slow charge and early greedy dealer.

Why Ford produced it: MBA thinking (Make your best selling product even better), overly focus on PR and stock price, no long-term planning.

F150 Lighting compare to EREV: Pure EV battery very powerful, better longevity, better towing capability due to large battery, never use gas, never oil change, never transmission service. EREV: No range anxiety, refueling much faster than charging, worse battery life, lower towing capability, still oil change ( less frequent), less reliable than pure EV due to complexity, little if any price advantage compare to pure EV.

Likely scenario: Battery size 30-35 Kwh, EV range: 70-80 miles. 2.0L turbo-charge engine optimized for fuel economy, 30 gal gas tank. If LFP chemistry is used, poor performance in winter unless you pretreat (warm) battery each morning

Prediction: despite all the hoopla, sales will struggle and no chance to succeed financially.

My personal take: produce 250mile EV with MSRP $32K with traditional style (compete against Camry, Accord), with 30min fast charge (200 miles), make it mainstream and avoid ugly, hideous design prevalent in the auto industry.

Tip/prediction：US auto business will struggle for decades due to exorbitant high labour cost; excessive focus on shareholder; excessive government regulation that changes frequently and huge swing of auto sales. GM/Ford one day would have to merge due to their small size and geographic focus on North America.