Yeah, might want to sort that one out.
Halt!
Ford’s F-150 Lightning — the EV version of its flagship pickup truck — is under serious scrutiny as the first EV pickup from a major automaker to hit the market. And unfortunately for Ford, the Lightning is starting to feel the heat.
On February 4, an F-150 Lightning undergoing a final quality check suddenly caught fire, spreading to another nearby vehicle. In the wake of the incident, and another unrelated battery issue causing it to lose power while driving, Ford quietly suspended production.
The press began to catch on last week, and now, the American automaker has been forced to continue its suspension of production of the Lightning for at least another week, CNBC reports.
But the suspension isn’t for additional investigation — Ford says it has identified the issue plaguing its battery cells, which are provided by South Korean manufacturer SK On.
Instead, Ford needs the extra time to ensure SK is “back to building high-quality cells and to deliver them to the Lightning production line,” it said in a statement provided to CNBC.
Pick-Me-Up
While it’s still not a great look, the fire fortunately took place in a holding lot while still in Ford’s possession — and not while it was in the hands of an unwitting customer.
That’s about the extent of what we know about the battery issue, however. At the very least, Ford has said it is not aware of any other reports of the fire issue in customers’ Lightnings, according to CNBC, though there are reports of the EV pickup mysteriously crapping out after charging.
A Ford spokesperson also confirmed to TechCrunch that Ford does not believe the fire issue should affect Lightning that have already been sold, either.
“We have no reason to believe F-150 Lightnings already in customers’ hands are affected by this issue,” the spokesperson told the outlet.
Whether it’s downplaying the issue or the incident was simply a one-off mishap, Ford has certainly lit a fire under its own feet after miserable fourth-quarter earnings from the end of last year, which certainly isn’t going to look much better with a halt on its prized pickup.
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