Ford Just Canceled A Bunch Of F-150 Lightning Reservations

Ford has canceled reservations for the highly-anticipated F-150 Lightning pickup that didn't convert to an order by March 31st. The move also affects Lightning EV buyers who failed to extend a reservation for one of the cheaper configurations that recently sold out, though there are important details worth knowing about.

In a letter sent Tuesday to dealers, Ford says that all reservations from the first 5 "Waves" of F-150 Lightning reservation holders that didn't convert to orders have been canceled. The company says it implemented a "waved invitation approach to efficiently convert retail reservation holders to orders" for the electric truck.

Waves 1 through 5 of "invited" reservation holders had until March 31st to convert to an order. If they didn't, Ford says "these reservations will no longer have the ability to convert to an order for F-150 Lightning." That could be quite a shock for customers who failed to make a decision and finalize their order in time.

Ford adds that the newest "invitations" for "Wave 6" were sent on April 12th and will have until April 29th to convert. That doesn't leave much time to do so. Interestingly, a closer look finds an important detail that not all reservation holders may have received an "invitation" and that any such cases remain unaffected.

As CarsDirect reported yesterday, the cheapest F-150 Lightnings have sold out, though customers who chose an option called "Extend My Reservation" may still be able to buy one based on production capacity. This means that anyone who didn't extend their reservation with Ford had their order canceled as a result.

Ford stopped taking F-150 Lightning reservations last year, though you can still build the EV on its website. Although Ford boosted Lightning production in January and has reportedly been flipping Tesla drivers in droves, it undoubtedly faces challenges in the rollout of its first electric pickup truck amid a chip shortage.

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