Ford Announces The Restart Of F-150 Lightning Production After Temporary Halt
Ford's been having an impressive run with its popular electric truck, the Ford F-150 Lightning. The popularity of the truck could be judged by the fact that it bagged more than 200,000 reservations in 2021, right after bookings opened. Ford began delivering the F-150s to consumers in 2022, with the first of the deliveries commencing in May of that year.
Together with the Rivian, the F-150 Lightning has become the most popular electric truck in the U.S. In fact, several reports indicate the F-150 Lightning could become the best-selling electric truck in the U.S. in 2023.
Ford has done well to cater to America's insatiable demand for full-size trucks. To make the deal sweeter for any potential Tesla Cybertruck buyers who are waiting, Ford has made several improvements to the machine in terms of specs and features. Notable among these include a bump in the power output and range for the Lightning. While these upgrades have also come with an increase in price, this seems to have had little impact on consumers who are reserving the F-150 Lightning in increasing numbers.
Ford's dream run with the F-150 Lightning had its first impediment in February of 2023 after Ford abruptly halted production of the truck. A month later, Ford confirmed that it is resuming making the truck again — much to the relief of potential F-150 owners waiting for deliveries.
Why did Ford temporarily stop making the F-150 Lightning?
Less than a month ago, Ford had to abruptly stop the production run of its much acclaimed electric pickup because the company was forced to enact a "stop-build and an in-transit stop-ship" order for a potential battery issue.
Initially, Ford did not reveal the exact nature of the battery issue, leading several to speculate on the problem. Ford, however, quickly cleared the air around the issue after it confirmed that the production was halted after one vehicle was found to have a battery issue during a routine pre-delivery quality inspection. The company then launched an internal investigation into the issue, following which the root cause of the issue was identified. Ford initially expected to resume production by the last week of February, which did not happen.
On March 2, 2023, the company issued another statement confirming that they will resume making the F-150 Lightning — starting on March 13, 2023. The statement clarified that the 11-day delay was due to an issue with the suppliers of the F-150's battery pack. Finally, on February 13, 2023, Ford CEO Jim Farley made an official announcement on Twitter confirming that the company had resumed production of the F-150 lightning.
#F150Lightning production restarted this morning at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center. Proud of the team's commitment to put quality and safety above all else. This is the engineering standard we aim to deliver consistently. pic.twitter.com/zhhejmeBdD
— Jim Farley (@jimfarley98) March 13, 2023
Ford manufactures all its F-150 Lightning trucks at the company's Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan. This facility has been known for being the home of the F-150 Lightning since the company began producing the trucks there in April of 2022.