Threepeat: Ford F-150 Lightning Wins 2023 North American Truck of the Year
Photo: Ford
Ford has pulled a Michael Jordan, winning its third consecutive North American Truck of the Year award thanks to the new F-150 Lightning. And it never once talked some serious trash to Reggie Miller! Ford’s first-ever electric pickup truck scored a 2023 NACTOY prize in electrifying fashion, defeating the Chevy Silverado ZR2 and Lordstown Endurance.
More on Ford’s Award-Winner: Learn why the F-150 Lightning is shocking the system
As was the case when the F-150 Lightning won the MotorTrend Truck of the Year in a unanimous vote, jurors praised Ford’s electric truck for not attempting to reinvent the wheel with its presentation. As Green Car Reports’ Bengt Halvorson writes: “Save the reinvention. The F-150 Lightning shows how the most familiar vehicle in American life can be made even better as an EV, and it’s fantastic.”
And the Ford F-150 Lightning finds ways to improve the formula that’s made the F-150 part of America’s bestselling truck lineup for 46 years running. On top of zero-emissions performance, it serves up more torque than any F-150 ever made, groundbreaking features like Intelligent Backup Power, and, of course, a Mega Power Frunk.
Karl Brauer of iSeeCars.com and Forbes agreed, saying “Ford’s effort to create an all-electric F-150 is remarkable because it combines the standard truck’s dimensions, which means it retains massive aftermarket support, with substantial upgrades to areas like storage and mobile power support. It’s really the best of all worlds, giving the F-150 Lightning a wide range of applications for both traditional and new-to-the-segment truck customers.”
F-150 Lightning gives Ford three straight NACTOY truck awards
Ford’s efforts have paid off so far, and not just with critics and experts. With 15,617 trucks delivered in 2022, Ford had the bestselling electric truck of the year. Given the long reign of the F-Series, it’s hard to envision that the F-150 Lightning won’t put together a streak of its own, even with competitors like the Silverado EV hitting the market.
By winning the 2023 North American Truck of the Year award, Ford has now won three straight in that category. The current-gen F-150 and Maverick scooped the top prizes in 2021 and 2022, respectively. And with the Mustang Mach-E winning 2021 North American Utility of the Year and Bronco winning the same in 2022, Ford has picked up five NACTOY honors in the past three years.
Kyle S. Johnson lives in Cincinnati, a city known by many as “the Cincinnati of Southwest Ohio.” He enjoys professional wrestling, Halloween, and also other things. He has been writing for a while, and he plans to continue to write well into the future. See more articles by Kyle.