DETROIT — Manufacturing of the F-150 Lightning will stay down till a minimum of the tip of subsequent week as Ford Motor Co. fixes an undisclosed battery downside that induced one truck to catch fireplace this month, the corporate confirmed.
The fireplace occurred in a Dearborn, Mich., holding lot Feb. 4 throughout a pre-delivery high quality inspection and unfold to a different automobile, firm spokeswoman Emma Bergg mentioned. She mentioned Ford believed it had recognized the basis reason for the hearth however didn’t elaborate.
“By the tip of subsequent week, we count on to conclude our investigation and apply what we study to the truck’s battery manufacturing course of; this might take a number of weeks,” Bergg mentioned in an emailed assertion. “We are going to proceed holding already-produced automobiles whereas we work by means of engineering and course of updates.”
The corporate was not conscious of any potential points with Lightnings that already had been delivered, Bergg mentioned.
The fireplace was first reported Wednesday by the Detroit Free Press, after Motor Authority reported on the delay in manufacturing and shipments earlier this week.
The Lightning is a key a part of Ford’s plans to succeed in an annual electrical automobile manufacturing price of 600,000 by the tip of this 12 months and a pair of million by 2026. Ford has added a 3rd shift on the Dearborn plant that makes the Lightning as it really works to spice up annual output to 150,000 by the tip of the 12 months.
CEO Jim Farley has mentioned the full-size pickup seemingly would decide whether or not the U.S. is able to absolutely embrace EVs.
Ford, nonetheless, has been suffering from high quality points and hassle on a number of high-profile merchandise. Final 12 months, the automaker issued a stop-sale on the Mustang Mach-E because it recalled practically 50,000 of the crossovers over a security defect that might trigger it to lose energy.
Farley this month blamed long-standing execution points, together with excessive prices and high quality issues, for the corporate’s US$2 billion internet loss in 2022.