Aside from relishing wintertime sports and appreciating life’s cozier things, Norwegians also love electric vehicles. In fact, last year, EVs reportedly accounted for more than 82% of new vehicle registrations in the Nordic nation, a staggering figure compared to other global markets. Bringing a bit of American flair to the country’s roadways, Ford is now selling its excellent F-150 Lightning all-electric full-size truck in Norway, and on Tuesday the first one was handed over to an eager customer.
Dag Ødegaard has a soft spot for the U.S. His wife is originally from Texas and he, rather unexpectedly, owns a store that sells barbecue equipment. How American is that? Not American enough, in fact, because Ødegaard also loves F-Series trucks, having driven them while traveling in ‘Murica. It’s fitting that he received the first Lightning delivered in Norway.
“This is a dream vehicle for us especially, as we love the USA and Texas so much,” said Ødegaard in a media release. He took delivery of a Lariat Launch Edition model treated to a lovely coat of Antimatter Blue Metallic paint. On the WLTP test cycle, which is more generous than our EPA regimen, this truck is expected to deliver 429 kilometers of range on a full charge, about 267 miles.
“Finally, we don’t have to drive two cars to transport two teenage children, my wife and all our luggage to our cabin in [the ski town of] Trysil,” said Ødegaard. “In particular, the fact that it has five seats means that we can finally afford to buy ourselves a proper family pickup, which is also fully electric and packed with new technology. It is absolutely outstanding both in terms of comfort, space and driving,” he added.
Norway is the first country outside America to get the F-150 Lightning. Accordingly, “This is an important day for Ford in Norway,” said Per Gunnar Berg, the CEO of the blue oval’s operations in the Northern European country. “We look forward to going full throttle to give even more Norwegians the opportunity to experience an all-electric truck unlike anything else on offer here. It is both bigger, stronger and more capable than most you will find on the Norwegian market, and is just as good as a family car as it is for work.”
Indeed, there are many reasons why Americans love their full-size trucks so much — the Detroit Three automakers each sell hundreds of thousands of them each year. These big rigs are just as useful on the jobsite as they are for family-hauling duty. With the Lightning’s super-efficient electric drivetrain, it’s not surprising customers in global markets would also be interested in owning one of these battery-powered pickups.
