Ford Restarts Production of F-150 Lightning After Six-Week Hiatus
After a period of retooling, Ford has restarted production of the F-150 Lightning. The automaker has reopened its Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan, following a six-week shutdown aimed at enhancing efficiency and increasing production capacity. This move comes in response to the surge in demand for the popular EV, which saw a sixfold increase in orders after Ford reduced its price by $10,000.
Starting this fall, the automaker says the Dearborn plant will be able to produce 150,000 units of the F-150 Lightning annually, triple its previous output. Although it will still be well below that figure this year due to downtime and slower speeds before the revamp (estimated at 70,000+ units for 2023), the company expects production spikes to reduce wait time headaches. Ford recently changed its expectations, pushing back the estimated date it will reach its total production target of 600,000 electric cars to sometime in 2024 from the original target date of 2023.
Ford says the plant’s improved capacity will also help it offer more popular trim levels, such as the XLT. In addition, Lightning Pro units are now available through retail channels, with “new trim levels joining the lineup soon.”
Part of the plant’s production increase comes from new equipment. Rouge’s electric vehicle center now has machines that “automatically measure and confirm exterior body fit for margin and flush accuracy,” a first at Ford’s North American plants. The factory also has an additional station that checks wheel alignment and headlight alignment for driver assistance technology. In addition, the plant will now employ 1,200 new workers, a likely boon for productivity and the Detroit-area economy.
Ford says it will also increase production at the nearby Rawsonville Components Plant and the Van Dyke (Mich.) Electric Powertrain Center. The automaker expects the batteries and electric power units to “match the scale of the F-150 Lightning lineup at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center.”
