Ford restarting electric F-150 Lightning production March 13 following battery fire
Problem solved, but new batteries need to be delivered
Ford said it will start building the F-150 Lightning on March 13, a month after the assembly line was idled due to a recent issue with the electric truck's battery pack.
An F-150 Lighting parked in a lot outside the factory awaiting delivery caught fire on Feb. 4, leading to the discovery of the issue.
Production and shipment of the trucks were suspended while Ford and its battery supplier SK On investigated the problem.
The cause has since been identified and a solution implemented, but it will take a few days before new packs can be shipped to the Dearborn, Michigan, factory that builds the truck.
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The F-150 Lightning is built at the Ford Rouge Electric Vehicle Center. (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images / Getty Images)
"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," a Ford statement said.
The F-150 Lightning uses a battery pack supplied by SK On (Youngrae Kim/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Ford is not aware of any fires or other issues with trucks that had been previously delivered to customers and has not issued a recall related to the battery pack.
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On Thursday, Ford reported that it had delivered 3,600 F-150 Lightnings in January and February, and the company's overall sales were up 11.4% during the period.
The F-150 Lighting's assembly plant uses powered carts to move the vehicles from station to station. (Ford / Fox News)
Its stock was up early on the sales report, but fell back to even later in the day.
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The automaker is working to ramp up F-150 Lightning output to a run rate of 150,000 trucks annually by the end of 2023.