The Ford F-150 Lightning remains one of the most considered electrified vehicles on the market and is coming off of its best sales month to date, with dealer stock turning in a mere eight days. The F-150 Lightning is also conquesting owners of other ICE pickups and EVs at a high rate. Back in September, the Ford F-150 Lightning was also recently named as a semi-finalist for the prestigious 2023 North American Truck of the Year award, one year after the Ford Maverick took home that same honor, while the Ford Bronco won 2022 North American SUV of the Year. Now, the EV pickup has made it to the next round, as NATOTY judges have deemed it worthy of one of three finalist spots.
A field of 26 vehicles – whittled down from 47 total eligible vehicles announced back in June – made it to the semi-final round for 2023 North American Truck of the Year, Car of the Year, and Utility Vehicle of the Year. Now, only three finalists remain in each, with the Ford F-150 Lightning competing against the Chevy Silverado ZR2 and Lordstown Endurance in the truck category.
The North American Car, Truck, and Utility Vehicle of the Year awards are determined by 50 journalists from print, online, radio, and broadcast media across the U.S. and Canada. Those jurors vote three times during the year to reduce the list of eligible vehicles down to semifinalists, finalists, and, finally, winners. Most recently, those jurors completed a comparison drive before voting to select the three finalists in each category. The winners will be announced at a special event in Detroit on January 11th, 2023.
“Our nine finalists for 2023 represent a diverse cross-section of this year’s best new vehicles, ranging from sports cars to powerful pickups to three electric utility vehicles – which is the first time in our history that all three finalists in a specific category are battery-electric,” said NACTOY President Gary Witzenburg. “Our jurors drew on their deep industry expertise and unique testing and evaluation techniques to narrow the field from 26 semifinalists to three vehicles in each category, which include a record-breaking six electric vehicles. The NACTOY board is grateful to our 50 hard-working jurors for their time and dedication as we head toward our final vote and winners event in January.”
Source: Ford Authority
