The Ford F-150 Lightning is one of the first all-electric trucks to hit the market, and there has been such a large demand for this vehicle that people are going to be waiting for months, perhaps years, to get their trucks. Now, they might have to wait even longer as there has been an F-150 Lightning production halt due to a potential battery issue.
According to an article in Automotive News, Ford Motor Co. has confirmed the production pause due to an undisclosed battery issue. The article quotes spokesperson Emma Bergg who states the company has identified the root cause and the halt could last a few weeks.
The halt itself was first reported on by Motor Authority on Tuesday, but there are few additional details available.
Bergg said the halt and resulting investigation began after the problem popped up during a pre-delivery quality check. Vehicles still at the plant are being held, but Ford isn’t aware of any potential issues with F-150 Lightnings that have already been delivered to customers.
The Ford F-150 Lightning is built at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan, and the ultimate goal is to push out 150,000 units per year from this facility.
While this doesn’t appear to be a catastrophic issue, it is just another kink in Ford’s production armor. The company has experienced several problems and production delays with popular new vehicles like the Bronco and the Maverick.
But just as those kinks were ironed out, so will this new wrinkle. We have no word on when production will resume, but it is expected to be at least through the end of next week.
Hey Jill,
You might want to check out Ben Hardy’s recent video on the Ford Lightning and Mach E. He’s suggesting that the bloom is off the rose with both and makes a very compelling case that reservation holders are not taking delivery in significant numbers and the Ford electrics are languishing on dealer lots. That said, could this battery problem be a convenient excuse to throttle back production to meet the actual demand?