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Despite having to halt production of the F-150 Lightning in mid-February after one of its electric trucks caught fire outside the factory due to a battery issue, Ford is confident the issue will be resolved and announced on Friday it plans to upgrade significantly. production.
The automaker said production of the F-150 Lightning is scheduled to resume on March 13, after which the annual run rate will be increased to 150,000 units by the end of 2023, or three times the current run rate.
The automaker sold just 15,617 trucks in 2022, but had 200,000 orders by the end of 2021 when it stopped taking new orders. However, Ford has increased the price of the Lightning three times since its initial launch, and many of those orders were placed before the price increase. The base Lightning is now $57,869, or 38.9% more expensive than when it went on sale.
This is the second time Ford has decided to increase production of the F-150 Lightning, with the automaker initially forecasting demand at around 40,000 units per year when the truck was first shown in May 2021. Ford then doubled that to 80,000 units per year. when pre-production took place the following September.
2023 Ford F-150 Lightning
Increasing production in the auto industry is complicated at the moment, due to shortages of key components and other transportation barriers. Ford said it was working with its supplier to increase component capacity, namely SK On, a Lightning battery supply company.
Production of the F-150 Lightning is handled at the Ford Rouge plant in Dearborn, Michigan, which has produced Ford pickups since 1948.
The Lightning isn’t the only Ford EV to be upgraded in production. Ford’s Mustang Mach-E has also proven successful in the market. The automaker said on Friday it had started increasing production of the crossover at its Cuautitlan, Mexico plant, and is targeting an annual production rate of 210,000 units by the end of 2023.
Ford also said Friday that it will add more staff in April at its Kansas City, Missouri, plant to support increased production of Transit and E-Transit vans. The automaker aims to increase the combined annual run rate for the two trucks by 38,000 units by the end of 2023.
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