Ford to Restart F-150 Lightning Production on March 13

WASHINGTON–Ford Motor Co. announced that production of its F-150 Lightning Electric Truck will resume on Wednesday, March 13, following a suspension in February after a battery fire.

Ford has yet to set a date for resumed deliveries. The U.S. automaker says that as it increases production, deliveries will resume. “we will continue holding existing-produced vehicles while engineering and part updates are completed.”

Ford claimed that the production restart will give SK On, SK Innovation’s automotive batteries unit, enough time to make battery packs and arrays for delivery to the Lightning production line. Ford claimed that an electric vehicle (EV) truck caught fire in Dearborn Michigan, during a predelivery inspection. Two more vehicles were also affected by the fire. The automaker ceased production on the next day.

Ford stated that “in the coming weeks, we will continue our learnings and collaborate with SK On’s staff to ensure that we continue delivering high quality battery packs–down right down to the batteries.”

Ford previously stated that by 2023, it would be producing 150,000 Lightning electric pickups annually.

By David Shepardson