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Ford Increases F-150 Lightning Production Again to 150,000 Units Per Year

In August 2021, Ford said it would double its production capacity for the F-150 Lightning from 40,000 units per year to 80,000 electric pickup trucks by 2024. Now, Ford said it would make 150,000 units per year. Unlike the news from August, we have no idea how it will get there.
Ford F-150 Lightning Assembly Lines at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center 18 photos
Photo: Ford
Ford F-150 Lightning Assembly Lines at the Rouge Electric Vehicle CenterFord F-150 Lightning Assembly Lines at the Rouge Electric Vehicle CenterFord F-150 Lightning Assembly Lines at the Rouge Electric Vehicle CenterFord F-150 Lightning Assembly Lines at the Rouge Electric Vehicle CenterFord F-150 Lightning Assembly Lines at the Rouge Electric Vehicle CenterFord F-150 Lightning Assembly Lines at the Rouge Electric Vehicle CenterFord F-150 Lightning Assembly Lines at the Rouge Electric Vehicle CenterFord F-150 Lightning Assembly Lines at the Rouge Electric Vehicle CenterFord F-150 Lightning Assembly Lines at the Rouge Electric Vehicle CenterFord F-150 Lightning Assembly Lines at the Rouge Electric Vehicle CenterFord F-150 Lightning Assembly Lines at the Rouge Electric Vehicle CenterFord F-150 Lightning Assembly Lines at the Rouge Electric Vehicle CenterFord F-150 Lightning Assembly Lines at the Rouge Electric Vehicle CenterFord F-150 Lightning Assembly Lines at the Rouge Electric Vehicle CenterFord F-150 Lightning Assembly Lines at the Rouge Electric Vehicle CenterFord F-150 Lightning Assembly Lines at the Rouge Electric Vehicle CenterFord F-150 Lightning Assembly Lines at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center
The path toward the 80,000 F-150 Lightning units was supposed to follow these steps: 15,000 EVs in 2022, 55,000 in 2023, and finally 80,000 in 2024, the last year of production for this first generation of the electric F-150 Lightning. Ford is building a new factory in Tennessee to make the second-generation electric pickup truck, which will have a new platform called TE1.

We have asked Ford about that and will update this article as soon as we hear from the company. Our bet is that the numbers for 2022 will not change much because the investments to almost double production will take a while to come into effect. The 2023 numbers should already reflect that, and we should see 150,000 units by 2024. The company did not say if it will open pre-orders again or not with the new manufacturing numbers planned.

Ford must have decided to increase production for several reasons. The first is that halting pre-orders in December must have shown potential for a lot more vehicles. The second and most important is that Ford dealers are already planning markups, and Ford does not want that to happen.

There’s massive reputation damage involved, especially considering Tesla and Rivian do not offer that kind of greedy move with their direct sales models. For Ford, it will not be enough to go electric: it will also have to provide a similar buying experience, preferably a better one, especially considering the first reservation holders will be asked to convert them to orders from January 6 on. Adopting the agency model to sell these pickup trucks would be a good way to solve this.

Ford also announced that the Mustang Mach-E would also have more significant manufacturing numbers. The company said it would triple its production, reaching more than 200,000 units per year by 2023. Curiously, that's the year when the company will introduce the GE2 architecture, which will underpin the Mustang and the next-generation Mach-E. By 2024, Ford wants to produce 600,000 EVs per year. That’s what it will take for the company “to emerge as the clear No. 2 electric vehicle maker in North America and then challenge the No. 1 spot.”
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About the author: Gustavo Henrique Ruffo
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Motoring writer since 1998, Gustavo wants to write relevant stories about cars and their shift to a sustainable future.
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