Ford set to restart F-150 Lightning production March 13

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Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) is due to restart production of its flagship EV by mid-month.

Production of the F-150 Lightning pickup will resume on March 13 after a lengthy pause due to fire risks. The production halt was recently extended in late February as the company sought to give South Korean battery partner SK On time to restart production.

"We will restart production at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center (REVC) on March 13, allowing time for SK On’s battery cells to be built into battery arrays and packs and be delivered to the Lightning production line," a company spokesperson told Seeking Alpha on Thursday. "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. As REVC ramps up production, we will continue holding already-produced vehicles while we work through engineering and parts updates."

Shares of the Dearborn-based automaker trended flat into afternoon trading on Thursday.

Dig into February sales data for Ford.

Comments

[EBIX EBUCKS]

Sounds like a lot of line down charges...hope that battery company has good insurance.

[PT Larry]

@EBIX EBUCKS Earnings will be adjusted for the impairment.

[Agile Trader]

So far, Ford is not being transparent with current/prospective Lightning owners on the exact cause of the fire(s). The obvious question is, why?

[ronald61239]

I hope Ford has accumulated a large backlog of parts to allow for a 2nd. shift to run flat out.

[6BQ5]

Random thought about it all ... yesterday I was watching a YouTube video someone made about the history of turbine engines developed by Chrysler. It looked really cool! Would turbines make a good alternative to piston engines today? I mean, technology has advanced quite a bit since Chrysler canceled that project.

[joel menkes]

@6BQ5 "...the history of turbine engines..."

Ahhh, andy granatelli and the indy 500. If you don't the history of that one look it up. Leading the 500 all the way from start to finish until a transmission bearing went something like 3 or 4 laps from the finish.

[ronald61239]

@6BQ5 ----If you stop to consider the reason for the E/V I don't think the turbine is the answer.

[6BQ5]

@ronald61239 Short term, we will need to burn natural gas to power all those power plant turbines to create electricity for charging EVs ... why not skip that intermediate step and power a turbine inside a car?

Yeah, the emissions coming out from the tail pipe will be icky and nasty but that's where I was asking if today's technology can help with that? Our understanding of the combustion process is better now than 30 - 40 years ago.

[RickJensen]

I'd bet that this actually makes F more customers.

[Robert Shriver Barnes]

@RickJensen I'm wondering why this issue came up with the F-150 and not the mustang? They use different batteries?

[RickJensen]

@Robert Shriver Barnes
It's entirely possible. We know it's a manufacturing issue since they are working with SK-I to solve it.

[pftthree]

@RickJensen Ford just announced a 3rd shift in Kansas to boost output

[Socratic Method]

What a cluster! One problem after another…and now interest rates are double from last year.

[pftthree]

This is a safety move, and
interest rates are still relatively low.

[Socratic Method]

@pftthree www.wsj.com/...

[pftthree]

@Socratic Method this article is irrelevant to your comment. The interest rate is going higher, and adjusted for inflation is about the same if not behind a little. No more free money.

[PT Larry]

@RickJensen www.cnbc.com/...

Good news from Ford.

[Socratic Method]

@PT Larry According to the CNBC article, EV’s sales constitute 2.9% of Ford sales so far this year. Or…97.1% of current Ford buyers do NOT choose to buy EV. In other words, Ford’s EV sales are essentially an ESG rounding error.

[pftthree]

safety first!

[joel menkes]

@pftthree You mean we're not that other car company, the one with all the groupies holding up its stock? Amen to that.

[pftthree]

@joel menkes don't care about them, or their sore arms

[1govols]

Great