Advertisement

Ford to nearly double production of all-electric F-150 Lightning

Ford plans to nearly double production capacity of the all-electric F-150 Lightning pickup to 150,000 vehicles per year at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan to meet rising customer demand, the company said Tuesday. Photo courtesy of Ford
Ford plans to nearly double production capacity of the all-electric F-150 Lightning pickup to 150,000 vehicles per year at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan to meet rising customer demand, the company said Tuesday. Photo courtesy of Ford

Jan. 4 (UPI) -- Ford announced Tuesday it plans to nearly double production of the F-150 Lightning, its first all-electric pickup truck, to 150,000 trucks per year to meet high demand.

The automaker plans to reach this production goal at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Mich., by 2023, The Verge reported.

Advertisement

More specifically, CNBC reported that it would double production capacity by mid-2023.

"With nearly 200,000 reservations, our teams are working hard and creatively to break production constraints to get more F-150 Lightning trucks to the hands of our customers," Kumar Galhotra, president of The Americas & International Markets Group, Ford Motor Company, said in a statement. "The reality is clear: People are ready for an all-electric F-150 and Ford is pulling out all the stops to scale our operations and increase production capacity."

This is the second time Ford has announced plans to double annual production for the all-electric pickup truck, according to CNBC, which cited the company's previous announcement it would double production from 40,000 vehicles a year to 80,000 vehicles a year.

The new announcement comes ahead of the automaker taking orders Thursday for the first wave of reservation holders and amid the final week of the pre-build phase before accelerating into mass production.

Advertisement

Ford said that it implemented a "wave-by-wave reservation process" because of "unprecedented customer interest" in the F-150 Lightning.

The automaker added that the Lightning is drawing customer interest from competitor brands in North America at a record rate, citing more than 75% of reservation holders new to the Ford brand.

Production of the 2022 F-150 Lightning pickup will begin this spring, and the starting price is $39,974 before potential federal tax incentives, according to Ford.

The F-150 Lightning comes with a standard-range battery expected to offer 230 miles of range, according to Environmental Protection Agency estimates, the company's website says.

Along with ramping up production of the Lightning, Ford recently announced it was tripling the production of Mustang Mach-E, with plans to reach 200,000 units per year by 2023.

In December, the first all-electric Ford Mustang Mach E to serve as a taxi out of an expected 50-vehicle fleet, took to the streets of New York City.

The Lightning will join other trucks in the electric pickup truck market, including Amazon and Ford-backed startup Rivian's R1T pickup, the GMC Hummer EV, and Tesla's Cybertruck.

Latest Headlines