Charging Ahead At Full Speed, Ford Doubles Up Productions Of The All-Electric F-150 Lightning

Up to 150,000 units annually, Ford Motor Company plans to double-up production of their F-150 Lightning pickup truck at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Centre in Dearborn. 

This is to meet the high demand rate for the first all-electric version of America’s best-selling vehicle, the F-Series.

Ford Motor Company’s president of The Americas & International Markets Group, Kumar Galhotra, expressed, “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 company is doing a wave-by-wave reservation process, with reservation holders told to watch for an invite via email from Ford or to log into their Ford.com account over the next few months. 

However, those that don’t receive invitations to convert for the 2022 model year will have an opportunity to order a future model year vehicle in due course.

Notably, the first group of reservation holders have already been invited to place their orders for the all-electric F-150 Lightning.

To deliver this latest increase, employees from manufacturing, purchasing, strategy, product development and capacity planning are finding ways to quickly adapt and expand production.

Besides that, Ford is also working with key suppliers and with its own manufacturing facilities, Rawsonville Components Plant and Van Dyke Electric Powertrain Centre. 

At which to find ways to increase the capacity of electric vehicle parts, including battery cells, battery trays and electric drive systems.

United Automobile Workers’ (UAW) vice president and director of the Ford Department, Chuck Browning, commented, “The pride and quality UAW members are putting into building the iconic Ford F-150 Lightning is evident in the high pre-production demand for the new F-150 Lightning truck. UAW members are leading the way in doubling the amount of vehicles Ford is producing for this game-changing model of our legendary union-built vehicle.”

Early January marks the final pre-build phase before accelerating into mass production of F-150 Lightning trucks for retail customers and F-150 Lightning Pro for commercial customers. 

Interestingly, the Lightning is drawing interest from customers of competitor brands at a record rate in North America, with more than 75 percent of reservation holders new to the Ford brand. 

Production of the 2022 F-150 Lightning pickup begins this spring at a starting manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of $39,974 (RM 167,871) before potential federal tax incentives.

That said, Ford is currently building the largest, most advanced and efficient auto production facility in its 118-year history in Tennessee, where it will assemble next-generation F-Series e-pickups.