Ford has resumed manufacture of its F-150 Lightning electric pickup and is working to treble production pace, setting up a multibillion-dollar test to see if mainstream American truck purchasers are prepared to switch to an EV.
With plans to run it on a three-shift work rotation, Ford executives said Tuesday that the assembly line in Dearborn, Michigan, where Lightnings are built, might attain a 150,000-vehicle annualized production pace by October.
Ford and its dealers will be pushed to increase monthly sales from the roughly 4,000 units per month the carmaker sold earlier this year by three times or more as the Lightning production ramps up.
The U.S. EV market leader Tesla is increasing production of its electric pickup truck, the Cybertruck, and Detroit’s General Motors is gradually starting production of its Silverado electric pickup, a direct competitor to the Lightning. At the same time that the Lightning is ramping up production, these other EV manufacturers are ramping up their own. Deliveries of its electric pickups are also being accelerated by startup Rivian.
Ford announced that individual retail consumers can now acquire the least costly F-150 Lightning Pro, a $49,995 version of the truck formerly intended primarily for commercial customers, as one of several new initiatives to increase demand.
According to Marin Gjaja, chief customer officer for Ford’s Model-e electric car business, half of all new Lightning orders are for the XLT model, which is in the center of the selection and starts at $54,995.
Ford will concentrate sales efforts on “attracting more traditional customers, or the early majority,” according to Gjaja, in order to sustain greater Lightning manufacturing. According to him, there are still issues with mainstream purchasers’ understanding and acceptance of electric automobiles.
Ford stated this week that its electric car operations are on track to lose $4.5 billion this year, a bigger loss than anticipated by 50%. The automaker would generally limit the rate of EV capacity expansion, according to Chief Executive Jim Farley in a statement to investors.
He did not, however, change his mind about doubling the Lightning’s production rate to 150,000 vehicles yearly by the year’s end.
