Ford is planning to nearly double production capacity of the all-electric F-150 Lightningpickup to 150,000 vehicles per year at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn,Michigan, to meet ‘soaring customer demand’.
F-150 Lightning customer deliveries start in North America this spring. On Thursday, the first wave of reservation holders for F-150 Lightning will start converting their reservations to orders; additional reservation holders will be invited in phases to place their order over the next few months.
Ford earlier announced it will increase production of the Mustang Mach-E starting this year and expects to reach 200,000-plus units per year by 2023; within 24 months, Ford will have the global capacity to produce 600,000 battery electric vehicles annually.
“With nearly 200,000 reservations, our teams are working hard and creatively to break production constraints to get more F-150 Lightning trucks into the hands of our customers,” said Kumar Galhotra, president of The Americas & International Markets Group, Ford Motor Company. “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.”
Ford says it is working with key suppliers – as well as with its own manufacturing facilities Rawsonville Components Plant and Van Dyke Electric Powertrain Center – to find ways to increase capacity of electric vehicle parts, including battery cells, battery trays and electric drive systems.