[ti:Ford Announces Electric Version of Popular F-150 Truck] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]Ford Motor Company has officially presented [00:04.36]an electric version of its best-selling F-150 pickup truck. [00:11.60]The company showed off its new model, [00:15.60]the F-150 Lightning, during an event this week. [00:20.96]In announcing the vehicle, Ford chief Jim Farley [00:26.76]said it represented "a watershed moment" for the company. [00:33.12]He added, it also marked "a very important transition" [00:38.40]for the automobile industry. [00:41.88]Experts say that with its new vehicle, [00:45.60]Ford is aiming to be highly competitive [00:49.32]with other companies in the electric truck market, [00:53.76]notably Tesla and General Motors (GM). [00:58.68]The Lightning seems to offer buyers [01:02.04]new technology in a popular, proven vehicle [01:06.68]that is also good for the environment [01:10.12]and saves on fuel costs. [01:14.00]The trucks are to be manufactured at a production center [01:18.52]in Dearborn, Michigan beginning next year. [01:23.84]Ford said it was investing $700 million [01:28.80]into the production complex and was adding 500 new jobs. [01:36.24]It plans to start selling the vehicles in the spring of 2022. [01:44.00]With a starting price near $40,000, [01:47.88]the F-150 Lightning will be available in four different versions. [01:54.36]The base model will have a traveling range of [01:58.16]370 kilometers on one battery charge. [02:04.12]Ford says the size of the cab and bed of the electric vehicle [02:10.60]will be the same as its gas-powered F-150. [02:16.08]And with a federal tax credit of up to $7,500 [02:22.20]available for Ford electric vehicles, [02:25.76]the price of the base model falls to around $32,500. [02:33.60]That is below the lowest-priced gas model of the F-150, [02:39.48]which starts at $37,000. [02:44.16]The company says the high-end Lightning – which is equipped [02:48.44]with a longer-range battery – can pull an estimated 4,500 kilograms. [02:56.56]This is comparable to many gas-powered trucks, [03:01.28]but it falls about 1,350 kilograms short of Ford's powerful V-8 engines. [03:12.04]The F-150 Lightning comes with a 39 centimeter, electronic control screen [03:19.56]and extra storage space where the gas engine would be. [03:24.12]Ford says the Lightning with the extended-range battery [03:29.16]can fully power a home for up to three days. [03:33.92]The high-end truck will likely cost between $60,000 to $90,000. [03:43.28]In a usual year, Ford sells about 900,000 F-series trucks in the U.S. [03:52.56]The model has been America's top-selling vehicle for nearly 40 years. [03:59.52]F-150 trucks are commonly used at building sites across the U.S. [04:07.32]Ford expects to increase yearly production of the electric F-150 [04:13.68]to 40,000 vehicles or more, beginning in 2023. [04:20.84]That information comes from Sam Fiorani, [04:24.84]an expert at industry research company [04:28.44]AutoForecast Solutions, who spoke to Reuters. [04:34.40]By comparison, Tesla's electric Cybertruck [04:39.16]is set to begin high-level production in 2022, [04:44.40]with a starting price of $39,900. [04:51.08]GM describes its first electric pickup as an "electric supertruck," [04:57.96]the GMC Hummer EV. [05:00.88]It will go into production in autumn of 2022, [05:06.64]and will be priced from nearly $80,000 to nearly $100,000. [05:14.80]While electric vehicle sales in the U.S. are rising, [05:19.88]the overall share of the market is still very low. [05:24.52]This year, through April, automakers sold about 108,000 [05:31.56]fully electric vehicles (EV) in the U.S. [05:35.72]That is nearly twice the number from the same period last year. [05:42.28]However, auto industry researcher Edmunds reports [05:47.20]that EVs still account for only 2 percent of U.S. vehicle sales. [05:54.48]I'm Bryan Lynn. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM