Battery issue halts F-150 Lightning production

FORD has temporarily halted production and shipments of its all-electric F-150 Lightning ute due to a potential battery issue.

The Blue Oval did not disclose details of the potential issue or say how long the halt on production and shipments will be.

Ford spokesperson Emma Bergg stated only that “an investigation is underway after a vehicle displayed a possible problem as part of the company’s pre-delivery quality inspections”.

“It depends on how long it will take to conduct the root cause analysis,” she said of the timeline to production return.

Ms Bergg said Ford is not aware of any potential issues with F-150 Lightning models already in the hands of customers.

US publication Motor Authority reported the issue on February 14, adding that Ford had not issued a stop-sale on any stock that was already built and cleared for scheduled delivery.

News of the production halt on the F-150 Lightning comes almost a year to the day after a similar issue paused production of Ford’s high-profile Mustang Mach-E electric SUV. That model was the subject of a 50,000-vehicle recall for a safety defect that could cause the model to lose power.

The F-150 Lightning is an important model in Ford Motor Company’s plans to produce 600,000 bbattery electric vehicles (BEV) annually by the end of this year, and two million by the end of 2026.

A third shift was recently added at Ford’s Rouge facility in Michigan to boost production of the F-150 Lightning to 150,000 units by the end of 2023.

Ford CEO Jim Farley said previously that the F-150 Lightning would be used to determine whether the US market was ready to fully embrace electric vehicles.

The F-150 Lightning is not without competition in Northern America. Ram recently released its own fully electric pick-up in the form of the 1500 REV and Chevrolet’s Silverado EV was revealed in January of last year.

All three also face competition from newcomer Rivian – which suffered its own production halt following a battery fire last year – as well as Tesla’s on-again, off-again Cybertruck.

The production halt and growing competition list are the latest in a series of problems plaguing the F-150 Lightning, which has twice undergone significant price hikes since hitting the market in 2021.

F-150 Lightning customers were recently confronted by a 17 per cent price hike Ford contributed to material costs and “other factors”.

The increase raised the entry point of the base-grade Pro some $US7000 to $US46,974 ($A65,767) and the top-shelf Platinum Extended Range $US6000 to $US96,874 ($A135,636) before on-road costs.

At the time, Ford Model e chief customer officer Marin Gjaja said, “We’ve announced pricing ahead of re-opening order banks so our reservation holders can make an informed decision around ordering a Lightning”.

Reservation holders who had previously received an invitation to order but decided to extend their reservation because the trim they wanted was not unavailable will “receive a private offer for use in upcoming waves,” said Mr Gjaja.