Ford Wants to Triple F-150 Lightning Production in 2023

Photo: Ford

We’re still waiting for Tesla to actually start selling the long-promised and frequently-delayed Cybertruck, but if you want an electric pickup truck right now, Ford will happily sell you an F-150 Lightning. You just might have to pay a little extra for the privilege — demand has been high, and there are only so many F-150 Lightnings to go around. But that could soon change.

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Production of the F-150 Lightning is currently set to begin again on March 13 after a battery issue was discovered. When the factory fires back up, Ford says it will be cranking out Lightnings in significantly higher numbers.

Ford announced today that it intends to triple F-15o Lightning production this year. By the end of 2023, it plans to be turning out electric pickup trucks at a rate of 150,000 vehicles per year.

The F-150 Lightning isn’t the only vehicle to get a production boost, either. In the same announcement, Ford said it began increasing Mustang Mach-E production this week, and that changes to the factory will allow it to nearly double the production rate of the all-electric crossover. By the end of 2023, Ford is targeting an annual manufacturing run rate of 210,000 Mach-Es per year.

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Additionally, Ford says it hopes to build a further 80,000 Mavericks and Bronco Sports this year. As for the Transit and E-Transit, Ford plans to boost production by another 38,000 units in 2023. And the American automaker also says it’s currently looking for ways to increase production of conventional and hybrid F-150s, as well.

“We have had a strong start to 2023 sales and we are moving to fast-track quality production,” Kumar Galhotra, president of Ford Blue, said in a statement. “Increasing production benefits both our customers and our business.” Hopefully, that means lower prices and fewer dealer markups, but we’ll have to wait and see.