Photo: Ford | Edited
Ford decided to stop F-150 Lightning production after one of the trucks experienced a battery fire on February 4. The information has been confirmed by a Ford spokesperson, who also said the production would not resume earlier than February 23.
Ford F-150 Lightning is one of the few electric pickup trucks on the market today. If we don’t count the 854 units of the GMC Hummer EV produced in 2022, the Lightning and the Rivian R1T are the most common options, with a production of around 15,000 units at Ford and fewer than 10,000 units at Rivian. As you can see, the F-150 Lightning is a pretty popular truck, and as such, it is key to fulfilling Ford’s goal of reaching the 600,000 EVs planned capacity at the end of 2023.
Nevertheless, scaling production is no easy task, considering all the new things Ford is only now learning on the job. The F-150 Lightning production was halted this month for what Ford said was a “potential battery issue” uncovered during the pre-delivery quality checks. The first red flag in the story was the admission that the production was halted more than a week before the news broke. Motor Authority, the news outlet that first reported the story, caught Ford red-handed after the company tried to sweep the mess under the rug.
Another red flag was that SK On, the battery supplier for the F-150 Lightning, confirmed it is also investigating the issue. This indicated a more serious problem with the truck’s battery, and many thought of the Chevrolet Bolt drama. Then, Ford revealed more details about the production stop, saying it doesn’t plan to restart F-150 Lightning production for another week. That means three weeks of production pause, which is significant for any carmaker. If Ford made the decision, we all know that the problem with the truck’s battery is as serious as it can be.
Detroit Free Press investigated the incident and found that on February 4, Dearborn Fire Department responded to a fire at Ford’s Rouge plant where the F-150 Lightning is produced. The fire spread to another vehicle in the holding lot that stores vehicles awaiting quality review before shipment to dealers. Faced with the evidence, Ford finally confirmed on February 15 that the “potential battery issue” had caused a vehicle fire.
“I can confirm one vehicle fire,” Emma Bergg, Ford spokeswoman, told Detroit Free Press. “Let me reiterate, we have no reason to believe F-150 Lightnings already in customer’s hands are affected by this issue.”
Bergg also said Ford had identified the root cause of the problem and applied what they learned to the truck’s battery production process. That could take weeks, hence the lengthy production halt. Ford is also holding already-produced vehicles while they investigate the problem. Nevertheless, as told before, trucks on dealer lots can still be delivered to customers.
Detroit Free Press was able to confirm that the issue is with the battery itself, not the assembly process. This puts the blame on the battery production facility in Atlanta that Ford operates with SK On rather than the Rawsonville Ford Plant in Ypsilanti, where the battery packs are assembled.
Ford is losing money on every F-150 Lightning it produces, as confirmed by CEO Jim Farley during the Q4 2022 earnings call. That’s why the Blue Oval cannot afford to let this issue develop into a costly recall like the one that affected Chevrolet Bolt in 2021. Production stops are pricey, but a recall could be an order of magnitude more expensive, even with a relatively small number of affected trucks.
Nevertheless, scaling production is no easy task, considering all the new things Ford is only now learning on the job. The F-150 Lightning production was halted this month for what Ford said was a “potential battery issue” uncovered during the pre-delivery quality checks. The first red flag in the story was the admission that the production was halted more than a week before the news broke. Motor Authority, the news outlet that first reported the story, caught Ford red-handed after the company tried to sweep the mess under the rug.
Another red flag was that SK On, the battery supplier for the F-150 Lightning, confirmed it is also investigating the issue. This indicated a more serious problem with the truck’s battery, and many thought of the Chevrolet Bolt drama. Then, Ford revealed more details about the production stop, saying it doesn’t plan to restart F-150 Lightning production for another week. That means three weeks of production pause, which is significant for any carmaker. If Ford made the decision, we all know that the problem with the truck’s battery is as serious as it can be.
Detroit Free Press investigated the incident and found that on February 4, Dearborn Fire Department responded to a fire at Ford’s Rouge plant where the F-150 Lightning is produced. The fire spread to another vehicle in the holding lot that stores vehicles awaiting quality review before shipment to dealers. Faced with the evidence, Ford finally confirmed on February 15 that the “potential battery issue” had caused a vehicle fire.
“I can confirm one vehicle fire,” Emma Bergg, Ford spokeswoman, told Detroit Free Press. “Let me reiterate, we have no reason to believe F-150 Lightnings already in customer’s hands are affected by this issue.”
Bergg also said Ford had identified the root cause of the problem and applied what they learned to the truck’s battery production process. That could take weeks, hence the lengthy production halt. Ford is also holding already-produced vehicles while they investigate the problem. Nevertheless, as told before, trucks on dealer lots can still be delivered to customers.
Detroit Free Press was able to confirm that the issue is with the battery itself, not the assembly process. This puts the blame on the battery production facility in Atlanta that Ford operates with SK On rather than the Rawsonville Ford Plant in Ypsilanti, where the battery packs are assembled.
Ford is losing money on every F-150 Lightning it produces, as confirmed by CEO Jim Farley during the Q4 2022 earnings call. That’s why the Blue Oval cannot afford to let this issue develop into a costly recall like the one that affected Chevrolet Bolt in 2021. Production stops are pricey, but a recall could be an order of magnitude more expensive, even with a relatively small number of affected trucks.
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