Ford Planning to Nearly Double F-150 Lightning Production
Ford Motor Company announced it is planning to nearly double production of the F-150 Lightning pickup at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn to 150,000 trucks per year to meet high demand for the first all-electric version the F-Series.
“With nearly 200,000 reservations, our teams are working hard and creatively to break production constraints to get more F-150 Lightning trucks into the hands of our customers,” said Kumar Galhotra, president of The Americas & International Markets Group, Ford Motor Company. “The reality is clear: People are ready for an all-electric F-150 and Ford is pulling out all the stops to scale our operations and increase production capacity.”
Due to unprecedented customer interest, Ford is implementing a wave-by-wave reservation process, with reservation holders being asked to watch for an invitation via email from Ford or to log into their Ford.com account over the next few months. Those who don’t receive invitations to convert for the 2022 model year will have an opportunity to order a future model year vehicle in due course.
To deliver this latest increase, a small task force of employees from manufacturing, purchasing, strategy, product development and capacity planning are finding ways to quickly adapt and expand production of the pickup. Ford is working with key suppliers – as well as with its own manufacturing facilities Rawsonville Components Plant and Van Dyke Electric Powertrain Center – to find ways to increase capacity of electric vehicle parts, including battery cells, battery trays and electric drive systems.
“The pride and quality UAW members are putting into building the iconic Ford F-150 Lightning is evident in the high pre-production demand for the new F-150 Lightning truck,” said Chuck Browning, UAW vice-president. “UAW members are leading the way in doubling the amount of vehicles Ford is producing for this game-changing model of our legendary union-built vehicle.”
This week marks the final pre-build phase before accelerating into mass production of F-150 Lightning trucks for retail customers and F-150 Lightning Pro for commercial customers. These production-level trucks will be used for testing in real-world customer conditions, collectively accumulating 1 million miles.
The Lightning is drawing interest from customers of competitor brands at a record rate in North America, with more than 75 per cent of reservation holders new to the Ford brand. Production of the 2022 F-150 Lightning pickup will begin this spring at a starting MSRP of $US39,974 before potential federal tax incentives.
Ford is committed to leading the electric vehicle revolution, investing more than US$30 billion in electric vehicles through 2025. Over the next two years, Ford aims to emerge as the clear No. 2 electric vehicle maker in North America and then challenge the No. 1 spot as huge investments in battery and electric vehicle manufacturing come onstream. Within 24 months, Ford will have the global capacity to produce 600,000 battery electric vehicles annually.
In addition to scaling Lightning production, Ford recently announced the tripling of production for the Mustang Mach-E and expects to reach 200,000-plus units per year by 2023. Ford’s all-electric van, the 2022 E-Transit, goes on sale early this year.
