Zac Quinn 
In February, a battery issue occurred that caused a vehicle fire on the lot in Dearborn, Michigan, where the company holds vehicles for quality checks. As a result, Ford halted electric truck production for the past month to sort out the kinks and fix the issue. According to a Ford spokesperson who confirmed to Motor Authority, the issue has been resolved, and production will restart on March 13, but it will be boosted to keep up with high demand. But wait, there’s more!
Ford Maverick, Bronco Sport, Mustang Mach-E To Also See Production Boosts
Ford previously spoke about increasing the production of their electric vehicles to keep up with the high demand, and that plan has finally come to fruition. Though the Ford F-150 Lightning is getting an increase in its production, the Mustang Mach-E will see the most significant production increase as Ford is tweaking the plant to produce nearly double the hourly output of the EV. With these changes, the automaker expects to build 210,000 units by the end of the year if the supply chain cooperates.
As for the Ford F-150 Lightning, the automaker believes it can triple production at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center this year. This would amount to an annual assembly of 150,000 units by the end of the year. But that’s not all, as Ford has also announced plans to build more Bronco Sport and Maverick pickup units, which are also high in demand, out of its Hermosillo, Mexico facility, which also builds the Ford Escape. As a result, the company projects production to increase by some 80,000 units this year, which should help alleviate some of the high demand that its been facing.
To fund this plan, Ford is putting $2 billion into three plants in Michigan and adding 3,200 union jobs. The Blue Oval is also investing $95 million to add 1,100 union jobs at the Kansas City Assembly Plant—increasing production of the Transit and E-Transit vans. The company expects to increase the assembly of these models by 38,000 units a year. Beyond expanding the production of current models, Ford also has some new vehicles joining the lineup this year, including the new Super Duty, next-gen Mustang, and a North American version of the Ranger. To summarize, we can expect to see a lot more Ford vehicles on the road by the end of the year.
