In order to keep up with "soaring customer demand," Ford has announced plans to nearly double its manufacturing output on the F-150 Lightning to 150,000 units a year.
Taking place at Ford's Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan, F-150 Lightning production had already been doubled back in September to 80,000 trucks per year. That previous move reportedly cost Ford $250 million in additional investment and meant the creation of 450 extra jobs compared to when only 40,000 trucks were planned annually. This latest doubling of production will surely mean even more money and more employment.
The automaker didn't specify how much additional investment or how many extra hands doubling Lightning production once again will require. But, to execute, Ford says a small task force has been formed consisting of workers across the supply chain to come up with "ways to expand production."
In other electric Ford production-increase news, the company recently committed to tripling production on the Mustang Mach-E electric crossover (also by popular demand) and is aiming for 200,000-plus Mach-E's per year by 2023. Throw in Ford's electric E-Transit van and, all in all, the Blue Oval is plotting for 600,000 BEVs every year within the next two years. To put that number into perspective, Tesla delivered 936,172 vehicles in 2021, with around a third of those delivered in the final quarter.
Speaking of deliveries, the first wave of Lightning reservation holders (of which there are almost 200,000 in total) will be contacted to start the process of converting their spots in line into real, concrete orders starting this Thursday. Customer copies of the electric truck are set to deliver beginning this spring.
This news comes just a day before Chevy is set to reveal its Silverado EV. Production of that battery-powered pickup is still a year out, from what we understand, so the Blue Oval will at least beat it to market. We'll see how the two compare when performance specs are revealed but given the Lightning's 775 pound-feet of torque, the Bowtie will have to pack a mighty punch.
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