Ford to Triple F-150 Lightning Production This Year after Stoppage
Ford today said it’s increasing production on models in high demand, with plans to triple the amount of F-150 Lightnings it builds this year.After a weekslong stoppage due to a battery issue that’s now been fixed, production of the electric F-150 will resume on March 13.Other notable Fords with ramped-up production include the Bronco Sport SUV, the Maverick pickup, the Mustang Mach-E EV, and the Transit vans.
It’s no surprise Ford wants to sell as many vehicles as possible this year, and today the company detailed plans to strongly increase production of several models that are in high demand. The most notable of which is the F-150 Lightning, which Ford says it’s on track to build triple the amount compared with last year.
The plans comes on the heels of Lighting production being halted for multiple weeks due to a battery issue. Ford has since fixed the problem and said production will resume on March 13. With assembly back in motion, the company hopes to start building 150,000 Lightnings annually by the end of this year. In 2022, Ford said it sold 15,617 copies of the electric F-150.
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Of course, the Lightning is just one of the Ford models that are said to be in high demand. Others that will see their production ramped up include the compact-sized Bronco Sport SUV and the Maverick pickup truck. To meet demand in North and South America, the company plans to increase production by more than 80,000 units in 2023.
Earlier this year, we learned that Ford planned to increase production of the Mustang Mach-E by nearly 67 percent, from 78,000 units last year to 130k in 2023. That is said to already be underway, and today the company said changes at the production plant will help towards nearly doubling hourly production of the Mach-E. Ford said it’s targeting annual manufacturing rate of 210K by the end of this year.
With Ford also saying it’s adding more workers in April at the Kansas City assembly plant where the Transit van and its electric counterpart are built, the company aims to increase annual production of those by 38,000.
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While Ford didn’t announce specific plans to increase production of other popular models, the company did mention it’s trying to find ways to build more gas-burning and hybrid F-150s, which are built at the Dearborn, Michigan plant. Ford is also preparing to introduce new or updated versions of the Escape, the Mustang, the Super Duty trucks, and the Ranger.
The latter will be built on the same assembly line as the full-size Bronco, and the launch of the new-generation Ranger could be why Ford didn’t say it would increase Bronco production.
Senior Editor
Eric Stafford’s automobile addiction began before he could walk, and it has fueled his passion to write news, reviews, and more for Car and Driver since 2016. His aspiration growing up was to become a millionaire with a Jay Leno–like car collection. Apparently, getting rich is harder than social-media influencers make it seem, so he avoided financial success entirely to become an automotive journalist and drive new cars for a living. After earning a degree at Central Michigan University and working at a daily newspaper, the years of basically burning money on failed project cars and lemon-flavored jalopies finally paid off when Car and Driver hired him. His garage currently includes a 2010 Acura RDX, a manual ’97 Chevy Camaro Z/28, and a ’90 Honda CRX Si.
