Heads up, people, lightning is going to strike again.
Summer lightning is usually defined as “distant sheet lightning without audible thunder, which typically occurs on a summer evening,” but this bolt from the blue comes on four wheels.
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Ford (F) -) said on Aug. 1 that production of its signature electric pickup, the F-150 Lightning, has resumed at Ford’s Rouge Electric Vehicle Center following a six-week retooling and expansion project.
The facility is now on track to triple its production capacity to a targeted annual run rate of 150,000 units by this fall.
Last month, Ford said it would slash the base price of the F-150 Lightning by around 16%, just days after Tesla (TSLA) -) rolled its first Cybertruck off the assembly line.
The least expensive version of the F-150 Lightning now starts at about $50,000.
Ford said that the adjusted pricing, while still above launch pricing, helped drive a threefold increase in web traffic and a sixfold increase in customer orders "as Lightning becomes more accessible to a broader segment of shoppers."
'We Have Learned a Lot'
“We are all looking forward to getting these F-150 Lightning trucks into the hands of our customers -- from the U.S. to Norway,” Debbie Manzano, director of manufacturing, said in a statement. “This milestone is the result of a lot of hard work and collaboration.”
The facility is using equipment to automatically measure and validate exterior body fit for margin and flushness precision, the first time such tools have been deployed in Ford’s North American plants.
A third station was added to validate wheel alignment and headlamp aim for driver assist technology.
Training for 1,200 additional manufacturing employees will continue for three weeks, Ford said.
The increased capacity also opens up the opportunity to broaden the number of trim levels offered across the lineup.
“We have learned a lot from our first-ever EV truck customers, including a preference for technology and visual differentiation,” said Marin Gjaja, chief customer officer, Model e.
Lightning delivery totals will be modest until September due to the recent production downtime, Gjaja said, according to CNBC. Deliveries should ramp sharply once the upgraded factory hits its stride.
Ford Expects Sales to Increase Significantly
“We expect sales will start to significantly increase in later September, and certainly in October as supply begins to rapidly ramp in the latter half of the year,” Gjaja said.
Ford said that Lightning Pro units are now available for retail customers in limited quantities, with these units allocated for loyal reservation holders who have been waiting to order since launch.
Ford recently adjusted its EV production target due to slower-than-expected adoption.
The automaker said it expects to produce 600,000 EVs per year sometime during 2024, compared with earlier estimates that it would reach that goal by the end of this year.
Many carmakers have plans to go all-in on electric vehicles within the next decade, but former Ford CEO Mark Fields recently said the transition might take longer than these brands would like.
“We're at a bit of a make-or-break moment for the industry when it comes to EVs. You've got a lot of capacity, a lot of new products," Fields told CNBC.
He noted that EV inventories are beginning to exceed those inventories for internal combustion engines, but "EV demand is not keeping up with production."
