COMMENT: They call it the Ford F-150 Lightning, but nightmare would have been a better name.
Australian owners of a $250,000 electric ute have been left in the cold by a small Australian conversion business and a global giant that can’t help them.
They’ve been left stranded in cars that need four days to receive a full charge.
The problem started with great promise in 2021, when Ford unveiled an electric F-150 Lighting tipped as the great green hope for the US car industry.
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The Wall Street Journal’s Dan Neill wrote that “the Lightning represents an American manufacturing triumph, a brand resurrection, a win for working people, a vehicle segment stepping out of the darkness into the light”, and Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen said it “goes like you wouldn’t believe”.
Ford Australia couldn’t make a right-hand-drive work locally, so a small company in Queensland, AusEV, set about buying the cars and converting them to right hand drive.
That process is complicated and expensive. In 2024, the finished product started from about $225,000 in 2024, while premium ones cost $255,000.
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In 2025, Ford leadership in Detroit decided the Lightning wasn’t profitable, so they stopped building them.
AusEV responded by slashing its price to $109,000 in a desperate play to move remaining stock that utterly destroyed resale values for existing owners.
Then in March this year, AusEV went bust.
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A week later, the government published a recall notice for the car, which has a fast-charging problem.
Owners were told they could only trickle charge it from household power-points, a process that takes about four days to go from empty to full.
Customers were told to ring an AusEV hotline for help, but no one answers. An email address published by the company on LinkedIn returns a bounce-back.
Ford Australia can’t do much to help Lightning customers, as its dealers don’t have the appropriate parts or training to step in.
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A company spokesman said “we understand the uncertainty that AusEV customers are now facing”.
“Ford Australia has never had an association with AusEV and is unable to provide recall or warranty support for their conversions. “We encourage customers looking for an F-150 to purchase their vehicle from an authorised Ford dealer to ensure they receive a fully factory-backed vehicle and official manufacturer support.”
It’s a brutal lesson that buyers must be wary when choosing their next car.
