Ford workers deliver the electric F-150 Lightning pickup on Dec. 13, 2022 at the automaker’s Ford Rouge Electrical Vehicle Center (REVC).
Michael Wayland | CNBC
DETROIT – Ford Motor ideas to restart manufacturing of its electric F-150 Lightning pickup on March 13 – much more than a month immediately after a battery concern brought about just one of the automobiles to capture fire.
The automaker on Thursday informed CNBC the creation timeline will enable its battery supplier, SK On, to create up production and produce battery packs to the Michigan plant where by the truck is produced.
The hearth occurred Feb. 4 in a holding ton during a pre-delivery good quality look at even though the vehicle was charging. Ford suspended output of the autos and issued a end-shipment to sellers. Ford declined to disclose specifics of the situation that triggered the motor vehicle to capture fire or of the carried out answer. The company beforehand mentioned engineers decided there was no proof of a charging fault.
“In the months in advance, we will continue on to use our learnings and work with SK On’s crew to ensure we carry on delivering higher-good quality battery packs – down to the battery cells. As REVC ramps up creation, we will continue keeping now-generated motor vehicles whilst we perform as a result of engineering and areas updates,” Ford claimed in a statement to CNBC.
Ford previous week introduced SK experienced commenced constructing battery cells once again at a plant in Georgia but explained the automaker would increase downtime at its Rouge Electrical Auto Heart, where the F-150 Lightning is constructed, by means of at minimum this week.
The F-150 Lightning is being carefully viewed by traders, as it really is the 1st mainstream electric pickup truck on the market and a main launch for Ford. The battery difficulty provides to ongoing “execution concerns” detailed to investors past thirty day period by Ford CEO Jim Farley that crippled the automaker’s fourth-quarter earnings.
Ford to begin with opened consumer reservations for the F-150 Lightning when it was disclosed in Could 2021. Much more than 200,000 reservations were put prior to Ford quickly closing the process to attempt to align creation with envisioned demand.
Quite a few reservation house owners are nevertheless waiting around for their autos, as Ford mentioned earlier Thursday it’s sold fewer than 20,000 of the all-electrical vans because they went on sale final 12 months.