Ford is planning to restart production of the F-150 Lightning at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center on March 13, more than one month after production was halted due to a battery fire.
The fire that resulted in the production stop took place on February 4 during a routine pre-delivery quality check. Along with stopping production Ford also issued an in-transit stop-ship order, preventing the release of recently built vehicles to dealers.
Ford noted however that Lightning trucks already in the hands of customers were not affected by the issue.
That issue stemmed from their battery supplier, SK On, which assisted in the investigation to identify the root cause, which was identified shortly after but not publicly revealed. The production stop was extended to at least February 24 so that SK On could fully apply their learnings to the battery pack production process, which it said could take “a few weeks.”
It took a little longer than planned, but in a statement on Thursday Ford said they are continuing to apply those learnings but anticipate resuming production on March 13.
“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 – down to the battery cells. As REVC ramps up production, we will continue holding already-produced vehicles while we work through engineering and parts updates,” Ford said.
While the automaker announced its planned date for the restart of production, the in-transit stop-ship order has not been lifted so customers waiting for their electric pickup truck will have to wait at least a few more weeks until they can take delivery.
