Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) will restart production of its F-150 Lightening electric pickup truck later this month, after pausing output since early last month due to battery fire fears.
It had halted manufacturing of the F-150 after one caught fire while being charged on 4 February, dealing a blow to Ford which sat on 200,000 reservations for the new truck in late 2021.
Production of the truck’s battery cells restarted on 20 February at supplier SK On’s Georgia plant, according to Ford spokeswoman Emma Bregg, giving it time to ramp up deliveries before truck production resumes on March 13.
The 18,000 units already sold since the truck’s release in spring 2022 were unlikely to be struck by issues, she said, although Ford is yet to confirm what caused the fire.
“In the weeks ahead, we will continue to apply our learnings and work with SK On’s team to ensure we continue delivering high-quality battery packs,” Ford told CNBC on Thursday.
Already-produced trucks will continue to be held, Ford added, while it works “through engineering and parts updates”.
Competing with startups like Rivian Automotive Inc (NASDAQ:RIVN) and Lordstown Motors Corp (NASDAQ:RIDE), the F-150 is the first mainstream electric pickup truck to be offered on the market but is set to face growing competition in 2024 as Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) and Stellantis all look to roll out their own models.
Its planned reintroduction onto production lines follows a 22% increase in pickup sales announced by Ford yesterday to roughly 55,000 vehicles, including 1,336 of the electric F-150 Lightning.