Ford plans to nearly double production of its new all-electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck
Ford has begun initial pre-production of its electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck at a new plant in Dearborn, Mich.
Michael Wayland | CNBC
DIGEST – Ford Motor on Tuesday said it plans to nearly double the annual production capacity of its upcoming electric F-150 pickup truck to 150,000 vehicles a year by mid-2023, driven by strong consumer demand.
The increase is a positive sign of demand for F-150 Lightning as well as electric vehicles in general, but also shows that Ford has significantly underestimated demand for trucks, leaving the company now scrambling to increase. This is the second time Ford said it plans to double vehicle production, which is expected to launch in the spring. Initial production was set at around 40,000 units.
“The reception of this vehicle has been absolutely astounding,” Kumar Galhotra, President, Ford Americas and International, said Tuesday in CNBC’s “Squawk Box”
Shares of Ford were up about 3% in pre-market trading.
Ford’s production plans come before the automaker begins taking orders for the vehicle on Thursday. The company received about 200,000 non-binding reservations for the truck before it stopped taking pre-orders last month.
At the time, Ford CEO Jim Farley told CNBC that the company was working on “whatever” to double the production capacity of the F-150 Lightning.
Farley told CNBC’s Jim Cramer. “We stopped at 200,000, and those were orders. Hard orders.”
Ford says it will be implementing a “wave-by-wave reservation process,” with bookers being asked to follow up with an email invitation from Ford or log into their Ford.com account over the next few months to book. their vehicles.
This week is the final pre-production phase before moving into mass production of the F-150 Lightning truck for retail customers and the F-150 Lightning Pro for commercial customers, Ford said.
Ford production plan is given a day in advance Synthetic engine Expect to reveal an electric version of the Chevrolet Silverado. The pickup is expected to compete more directly with the F-150 Lightning than its GMC Hummer EV, recently start shipping to consumers. The Silverado is expected to go on sale until 2023.
Pricing for the F-150 Lightning, like a traditional pickup, has a wide scope. A work-oriented version of the truck will start at $39,974. The more consumer-focused models will start at $52,974 and peak around $90,000.
