Automotive giant Ford announced today plans to nearly double the production capacity of its all-electric F-150 Lightning pickup to 150,000 vehicles annually, driven by high customer demand. The company reported receiving nearly 200,000 reservations for the new vehicle and will begin inviting reservation holders to begin placing orders for the truck this week.
To help meet the demand for the electric F-150, Ford said that a task force of employees from manufacturing, purchasing, strategy, product development, and capacity planning is working to find ways to adapt and expand production of the vehicle. Ford is also working with key suppliers to find ways to increase the capacity of electric vehicle parts, including battery cells, battery trays, and electric drive systems.
Kumar Galhotra, President of The Americas & International Markets Group, Ford Motor Company, said:
“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. 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.”
The announcement follows a significant increase in Ford’s vehicle electrification plans over recent months. The company has committed to invest over $30 billion in EVs through 2025, and in September 2021, Ford kicked off a major expansion of its electric vehicle ecosystem in North America, with investments of $7 billion planned for the construction of a large-scale campus in Tennessee and battery plants in Kentucky.
Ford expects to grow its global battery electric vehicle annual production capacity to 600,000 units within 2 years.
The company stated that this week marks the final pre-build phase before accelerating into mass production of the F -150 Lightning trucks for retail customers and F-150 Lightning Pro for commercial customers. Deliveries of the 2022 F-150 Lightning pickup will begin in spring 2022.
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