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Ford has halted production of the F-150 Lightning pickup after a battery problem caused one of the vehicles to catch fire. Now, after a hiatus of more than a month, the automaker plans to relaunch on March 13. According to CNBC on Thursday, the automaker said the manufacturing schedule will allow battery supplier SKON to build the product and supply the battery packs. The truck is manufactured at the Michigan plant.
The fire was allegedly caused during a pre-delivery quality check while the vehicle was being charged on February 4. Ford has stopped production of the vehicles and issued a stop shipment to dealers. Ford declined to disclose what caused the vehicle to catch fire or what solutions were implemented. The company’s engineers have previously determined that there is no evidence of a charging fault. “In the coming weeks, we will continue to apply our learnings and work with the SK On team to ensure that we deliver the highest quality battery packs right down to the battery cells. As REVC ramps up production, we will continue to maintain pre-engineered vehicles as we work on engineering and component improvements, Ford said.
Ford announced last week that SK had begun rebuilding battery cells in Georgia, but the automaker said it will extend the downtime at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center, where the F-150 Lightning is built, at least this week.
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The F-150 Lightning is being watched closely by investors as the first mainstream electric pickup truck on the market and a big start for Ford. The battery issue adds to a series of “performance issues” outlined by Ford CEO Jim Farley to investors last month, as the automaker missed fourth-quarter earnings. Ford has opened up customer space for the F-150 Lightning first when it’s revealed in May 2021. More than 200,000 spots were booked before Ford temporarily shut down production to match production to expected demand.
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