Ford F-150 Lightning Production Stopped Over Battery Concerns
It's been less than a year since Ford began deliveries of its first full-sized all-electric pickup truck — the Ford F-150 Lightning. Interestingly, even before the deliveries commenced back in May 2022, consumer demand for the vehicle was exceptional. Ford claims they received more than 200,000 reservations for the F-150 Lightning soon after bookings opened in mid-2021.
By September 2022, it was becoming evident that the all-electric pickup truck was on course to become the best-selling electric pickup truck in North America. While a report by Barrons indicates that Rivian clinched the throne for being the largest EV truck maker in the U.S. in 2022, Ford is likely to usurp the throne in 2023. Ford's recent electric push is also giving sleepless nights to Tesla — America's number one electric vehicle brand — which is struggling to release its own pickup truck, the Tesla Cybertruck. These delays have also resulted in several existing Tesla drivers defecting to the Ford camp.
Ford has also made several changes to the F-150 Lightning since it was first announced. These include a slight increase in the power output and the claimed range, as well as a steep rise in the prices of the truck across all trim levels. Needless to say, it has largely been smooth sailing for Ford with the F-150 Lightning until now. However, a recent report by Motor Authority hints at a potential battery issue affecting some F-150 Lightning trucks. The issue seems to be serious enough for Ford to temporarily halt production and sales of the truck, the report claims.
Deliveries of new Ford F-150 Lightning likely affected
The Motor Authority report cites Ford spokesperson Emma Bergg and claims that Ford has issued something known as a "stop-build and an in-transit stop-ship" order for the F-150 Lightning truck due to a "potential battery issue." If not clear already, the order has essentially resulted in the complete halt of production of the truck. Additionally, the in-transit stop ship order means that deliveries of all newly built F-150s that recently left the assembly line remain suspended. Interestingly, Ford did not issue a "stop sale" order for the truck, indicating that the F-150 units that are already in dealerships may not be affected by the problem.
While Ford has yet to confirm the nature of the battery issue affecting the F-150 Lightning, the company did say that the problem was discovered during a routine pre-delivery quality check. The company is also unaware of any incident caused by this battery issue. Bergg also revealed that Ford engineers are in the process of investigating the issue. It is also unclear how long it would take for the company to lift the stop-build and in-transit stop-ship order.
It is also unclear how the recent stop build and stop ship order affects the delivery timelines for consumers awaiting deliveries of their new F-150 Lightning. However, given that Ford is already struggling to scale up the production of the truck to match consumer demand, the chances of even more extended wait times are likely.