Ford to Raise Production as US Auto Sales Start to Recover

DEARBORN, Mich.—Ford will increase production of six models this year, half of them electric, as the company and the auto industry start to rebound from sluggish U.S. sales in 2022.

Automaker Ford announced on Friday that they plan to make more Mustang Mach-Es, Bronco Sport SUVs and Maverick small pickups, as well as the F-150 Lightning and Transit electric pickups, and E-Transit full-size vans.

The company announced last year that it will add 1,100 additional jobs to its van-plant in Claycomo in Missouri. Another 3,200 jobs are related to the F-150 Lightning, which is built in Dearborn, Michigan.

Ford is also planning to hire unspecified amounts of additional workers in Mexico’s Cuautitlan-Hermosillo plants, which are where Mach-E and Bronco Sports are produced, said Said Deep. He said that production line speeds would increase in order to boost production and more workers will come later.

The coronavirus pandemic caused a severe shortage of computers chips, which has led to U.S. car sales being hit hard for more than 2 years. However, the shortage of chip chips is decreasing and automakers such as Ford are beginning to build more supplies and increase production.

The overall US auto sales declined by almost 8 percent to less than 14 million.