• Ford wants to triple production of its F-150 Lightning in 2023.
• In 2022, Ford was able to build 15,000 units, well short of the 40,000 originally planned.
• Various problems slowed down production in 2022 and in the first two months of 2023.
A few weeks ago, Ford announced that it is increasing production of the Mustang Mach-E electric crossover. The company explained this was made possible by, among other things, an improvement in the supply chain situation.
It also lowered the price of that EV model, a rare occurrence in the current context.
Now the company is announcing further production increases, including to do with the F-150 Lightning all-electric pickup.
The goal for Ford is to triple production this year compared to last year. The hope is that by the end of 2023, the company will be churning the trucks out a pace of 150,000 units per year. In 2022, the company produced and sold 15,617 units of the F-150 Lightning.
Recall that initially, Ford had set a goal of 40,000 units produced in 2022. The company even announced its intention to double that to 80,000 units.
In the end, only the 15,617 units were produced in 2022. There were several factors that slowed production, including supply-chain issues and temporary production halts. Production is scheduled to resume on March 13.
Tripling production compared to 2022 means that Ford expects to build around 45,000 F-150 Lightnings this year. That’s is still a far cry from the 150,000 figure., but what Ford is aiming for is a pace of production, that it wants to attain by the end of this year. If it does, and maintains it, it will mean producing about 12,000 units per month starting around November or December and through next year.
We’ll see if it succeeds. The company had over 200,000 reservations on the books last year. It will have to act quickly to start filling those, bacause General Motors is coming up behind it with two new electric pickups by the end of 2023, the Chevrolet Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV.
Ford is also looking to ramp up production of other models, such as the Bronco Sport SUV, Maverick compact pickup and gasoline versions (regular and hybrid) of its F-150. Busy times…