The demand for electric cars is high right now, and that’s especially true of vehicles like the Ford F-150 Lightning, which have little competition in the space. Unfortunately, people in line to take delivery of the popular electric pickup truck will likely have to exercise some additional patience, at least for now.
According to an article published by Motor Authority, Ford has temporarily halted production of the F-150 Lightning electric truck. The Big Three automaker will not only pause the manufacturing process for a time, but also cease from shipping F-150 Lightning’s that are currently in transit to dealers. That said, there is not a stop-sale on F-150 Lightning’s that are already available in dealer inventory.
The publication writes that Ford spokesperson Emma Bergg has officially confirmed the information. It’s also known and confirmed that the pause comes as a precaution due to a potential battery issue, though the specifics of the concern have yet to be made public.
Bergg did, however, disclose that Ford became aware of the potential issue during a pre-delivery quality inspection. At this point in time, the carmaker hasn’t been apprised of any real-world incidents or problems related to the possible battery concern.
Engineers at Ford are currently in the process of figuring out what caused the issue. The automaker will eventually restart production and clear vehicles for shipping once they’ve discovered the cause of the potential issue and taken any necessary action to resolve it.
Until Ford has identified the cause of any potential battery concerns, it cannot specify how long F-150 Lightning production and in-transit shipping may remain paused. Bergg shared:
“It depends on how long it will take to conduct the root cause analysis.”
We reached out to Ford for further comment. If the automaker responds, we will update this article.
The F-150 Lightning is one of only three fully electric trucks currently available on our shores. Available competitors include the Rivian R1T and GMC Hummer EV. The Ford full-size electric truck carries a starting price of around $56,000.
