Ford Motor Co. is on track to reach its 150,000-unit production goal on the electric F-150 Lightning this year and giving the largest production increase to the XLT trim customers have been waiting for, the Dearborn automaker said Thursday.
Customers wanting the $64,474 Lightning XLT can order one today from a local Ford dealer online or in-store and expect delivery as early as September, the company said. Ford is continuing to accept retail customer orders for the Lariat and Platinum higher-trim models. The entry-level Pro model remains sold out for model year 2023.
“Customer interest for XLT has considerably outstripped supply since the F-150 Lightning launch and we’ve worked with our suppliers to help address that,” said Marin Gjaja, Ford Model e chief customer officer, in a statement. “We heard loud and clear from our customers that they want their truck deliveries as close as possible to their orders. As we scale production, we are making this possible.”
Thursday’s news comes after Ford earlier this year had to halt production and shipments for the electric pickup for more than a month after a battery caught fire on a truck and spread to two others in a holding lot near the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, where the trucks are built.
The production stoppage may have put Ford behind on filling orders for the pickup, but the automaker is still ahead of crosstown rival General Motors Co.’s electric Chevrolet Silverado. Production of the Work Truck version of the Silverado EV is supposed to start soon at GM’s Factory Zero Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Center. A $105,000 RST retail version of the truck will launch in the second half of the year.
“It’s going to be some time in 2024 before GM introduces lower trim levels of the Silverado,” said Sam Abuelsamid, principal e-mobility analyst for market research firm Guidehouse Insights. “So now’s a good time for Ford to take advantage of that capacity … build those trucks, get those into customer hands.”
Ford’s electric vehicle sales were down 13% year-over-year in May as the automaker works to increase production of its battery-powered vehicles: the Mustang Mach-E, Lightning and E-Transit. The company expects the results of those efforts will show up in the second half of 2023.
Sales were affected by disruptions at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center and at the Mustang Mach-E plant in Mexico, which was also down for several weeks earlier this year.
Ford wants to increase production at the Mach-E plant to 130,000 units this year and has steadily done so in the last few months with more than 13,600 units assembled in May. Year to date, the plant has produced more than 33,000 Mach-Es.
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