Six weeks after shutting down its Rouge Electric Vehicle Center, Ford is once again producing the all-electric F-150 Lightning. Thanks to the shut-down, the automaker anticipates faster production of the electric pickup that is now cheaper.
“We are all looking forward to getting these F-150 Lightning trucks into the hands of our customers – from the U.S. to Norway,” said Debbie Manzano, director of manufacturing, Ford. “This milestone is the result of a lot of hard work and collaboration.”
Ford expects that, despite the shutdown, it will produce 70,000 F-150 Lightnings by the end of 2023. By fall, it expects to be manufacturing them at such a rate that it will be on pace to roll out 150,000 units per year.
Read: Hope You Didn’t Buy An F-150 Lightning In Early 2023, Because Ford Just Slashed Prices By $10K
The additional production capacity comes as a result of new tooling and new equipment that can measure and validate exterior body fit for margins and flushness. It is also training an additional 1,200 workers, and they will be shadowing more experienced workers in a “buddy system,” to help ensure speedy and effective onboarding.
In addition, Ford says that battery production at its Rawsonville Components Plant and the Van Dyke Electric Powertrain Center is ramping up. That will help ensure that these vital components can match the production speed of its Rouge Electric Vehicle Center.
“We have learned a lot from our first-ever EV truck customers, including a preference for technology and visual differentiation,” said Marin Gjaja, chief customer officer, Model e. “We continue to refine the F-150 Lightning lineup to make the jump to an EV truck an easy choice for customers.”
Indeed, Ford says it has experienced a threefold increase in web traffic, and a sixfold increase in customer orders for the F-150 Lightning since announcing a recent price reduction. These factory updates are being made to shorten order-to-delivery times.
