Ford Pro, the fleet mobility division of Dearborn’s Ford Motor Co., announced today it is introducing the first electric pickup truck purpose-built for the police, the 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning Pro Special Service Vehicle (SSV).
The automaker also released its second quarter (Q2) financial results.
The F-150 Lightning Pro SSV is designed to handle specialized departmental needs outside of pursuit situations, such as assisting at an accident or crime scene or giving departments the ability to tow a boat or trailer. It does, however, feature sub-four-second 0-60 mph acceleration capabilities.
Purpose-built features from F-150 Police Responder include police-grade heavy-duty cloth seats with reduced bolsters to help holstered officers enter and exit the vehicle more easily, built-in steel intrusion plates in the front seatbacks, available red/blue, amber/white roof-mounted LED warning beacons, an upfit-friendly reinforced instrument panel top tray for easy mounting of police equipment, and Easy-to-clean vinyl rear seats and vinyl flooring.
“We’re proud to offer America’s first electric police pickup truck to local government customers who can use the truck’s game-changing technology to help improve their productivity,” says Nate Oscarson, national government sales manager at Ford Pro.
“Pro Power Onboard can serve as a mobile power source to light up evening accident scenes on the highway, the electric powertrain helps to potentially reduce costs associated with fuel and scheduled maintenance needs, and the Mega Power Frunk provides extra lockable storage on top of purpose-built police additions our customers have come to expect from the leader in police vehicles.”
Standard features include a 12-inch digital cluster screen and 12-inch landscape-style touchscreen on the center stack, the Mega Power Frunk which offers easy access for upfitters to locate a 220-amp DC-DC power source, 452 horsepower, 775 pound-feet of torque, 7,700-pound towing capacity, Intelligent Range, SYNC 4, over-the-air Ford Power Up software updates, and Ford Co-Pilot360 technology.
It also offer a 2,235-pound maximum payload with a standard-range battery, and 580 horsepower and 10,000-pound towing capability with the extended-range battery.
As part of Ford Pro’s platform of connected vehicles, software and services, the targeted zero-emissions police truck comes pre-configured to seamlessly connect to a department’s existing fleet of Ford and non-Ford internal combustion engine and battery-electric vehicles, chargers, and fleet management software.
When used together, police departments can proactively manage when vehicles are charged and serviced, resulting in potentially lower operating costs, and improving uptime.
In related news, Ford reported $40.2 billion in revenue in Q2 2022, up from $26.8 billion year-over-year, and $667 million in net income, which is almost the same.
“We’re moving with purpose and speed into the most promising period for growth in Ford’s history — to innovate and deliver great products and connected services, raise quality and lower costs,” says Jim Farley, CEO of Ford. “We’re giving customers great experiences and value, improving our profitability, and making Ford the next-generation transportation leader.”
The company reported $2.9 billion in operating cash flow, up from approximately $800 million in Q2 2021, and an adjusted free cash flow of $3.6 billion, up from negative $5.1 billion last year.
Central to the company’s transformation is standing up three distinct automotive business units, a process that’s well underway. Starting next year, Ford will operate and report financial results around:
Ford Blue — growing the company’s portfolio of internal-combustion vehicles and optimizing related operations to drive growth and profitability.
Ford Model e – accelerating development of EVs at scale, along with software and connected vehicle technologies and services that will be applied to all of the company’s products.
Ford Pro – which provides productivity to business and government customers through work-ready ICE and electric products, along with services to best manage their fleets and broader operations.
While commercial customers still overwhelmingly rely on Ford’s ICE vans and pickup trucks, Farley said that the company is increasingly evaluating and adopting EV technology. According to Motor Intelligence, through the second quarter, Ford E-Transit accounted for 95 percent of full-size electric vans sold in the U.S.
In Europe, the company already has more than 8,000 orders for its two-tonne E-Transit, with a one-tonne version scheduled for introduction next year.
“And vehicles represent only one part of the ‘always on’ relationships we’re creating with commercial customers,” says Farley. “We’re helping them reduce the total cost of vehicle ownership and make their enterprises more productive overall.”
Ford Pro’s paid telematics subscriptions, while relatively small, increased 40 percent sequentially in both Q1 and Q2.
In Europe, Ford increased its commercial-vehicle leadership, with market share up to almost 15 percent. Last month, the company selected its plant in Valencia, Spain, to produce retail EVs built on a next-generation architecture.
The company’s International Markets Group has begun launching the all-new Ranger pickup truck around the world, with initial production of the Ranger Raptor and Ranger Wildtrak versions already sold out until next year within IMG’s markets.
Ford’s business in South America, which was significantly restructured a year ago, turned in its fourth consecutive profitable quarter. In China, Q2 vehicle shipments were down as a result of pandemic-related restrictions that affected most industries. In-country market share for Ford was up from Q1, driven by commercial and Lincoln passenger vehicles.
Ford Credit once again had strong quarterly results, with earnings before taxes of $939 million, reflecting healthy lease residuals and credit-loss performance.
