Energy
Friday, August 19th, 2022 4:00 am EDT
Electrify America is giving 250 kWh of free (complimentary) charging to new Ford F-150 Lightning owners. Who’s actually getting the benefit of that?
One of the best things about electric vehicles is that you can easily, super conveniently charge up at home. Almost every non-EV driver who comes across an EV owner with a curious mindset asks, “How long does it take to charge?” Find me one EV owner who charges at home who really pays any attention to how long their car charges. You know that you plug it in (often when arriving home) and unplug it (often when leaving), but there is no need to track how long it charges in between. It’s simple and easy.
With that being the case, many new EV owners may be hesitant to complicate it. Plugging in at home is easy, but charging at a public charging station can be much more complex. “Which network? How much does it cost? What if I can’t get it to work? How long does it take? Where is a station even? Well, anyway, it’s easier to just take our gas-powered vehicle on road trips, so no need to think about charging.” Yes, some people, quickly after buying the EV, will drive out of their way 30 minutes or more to use a charging station and check off the new experience exuberantly. There are different kinds of people in the world, even different kinds of EV owners.
The 250 kWh of free (complimentary) EV charging that Electrify America just offered to new F-150 Lightning buyers is for the people who are a bit more reticent to try something new, or who are concerned about the cost, or who just need a nudge. Once Electrify America gets an EV owner to a charging station, the company knows it’ll be a lot more likely that person will return.
So, with that long intro out of the way, on to the news. Well, that’s basically the news. New F-150 Lightning buyers get essentially 575 miles of free charging, and that should help more people to warm up to an electric offering and — probably more importantly — encourage those who buy a Lightning to actually take it out on the road and go on an adventure beyond Publix or Home Depot.
They can charge via FordPass Rewards. Also note that this is not for commercial buyers — just retail customers.
Putting it in yet other terms, Electrify America notes that “the 250 kilowatt-hours of fast-charging energy is equal to nearly three ‘fill-ups,’ or near-full charging sessions, or up to 575 miles of electric driving.” The company also pumps up its brand a bit by saying that at the charging peak, an F-150 Lightning driver can add about 54 miles of driving range in about 10 minutes, and that it can bring the extended-range version of the truck from 15% battery to 80% battery in ~41 minutes. From personal experience, I can tell you that if you are charging at a Publix or Home Depot, your truck may well be done charging before you get back to the driver’s seat.
“Electrifying the F-150, America’s best-selling vehicle, is a game changer for bringing electric vehicles fully mainstream,” said Giovanni Palazzo, president and CEO of Electrify America. “We’re proud to have the F-150 Lightning and all Ford electric vehicles take advantage of Electrify America’s growing coast-to-coast ultra-fast charging network to build range confidence wherever they travel.”
The top charging network also shared some stats it must have gotten from its friends over at Ford: “Reservations for the truck quickly reached nearly 200,000 ahead of order banks opening at the start of the year. 4,400 F-150 Lightnings have been sold this year to date across all 50 states.”
At the moment, there are more than 800 Electrify America charging stations across the United States and Canada, with those stations hosting a total of 3,500+ individual chargers. The company grows day after day, trying to keep pace with expanding EV adoption. It aims to have 1,800 charging stations deployed with 10,000+ individual chargers by 2026.
Featured image courtesy of Electrify America
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