Production of Ford’s F-150 Lightning electric truck has been suspended, and shipments have been halted after a battery caught on fire in a pre-delivery quality check.
Ford’s Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan, will stop production at least until the end of next week, according to WoodTV.
In a statement Wednesday, Ford said it does not believe the F-150s currently on the road will be affected by the battery problem.
“We are suspending production at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center through at least the end of next week. During a standard Lightning pre-delivery quality check, one vehicle displayed a battery issue and caught fire. We believe we have identified the root cause of this issue,” Ford Spokesperson Emma Bergg told The Dallas Express.
“By the end of next week, we expect to conclude our investigation and apply what we learn to the truck’s battery production process; this could take a few weeks. We will continue holding already-produced vehicles while we work through engineering and process updates. We have no reason to believe F-150 Lightnings already in customers’ hands are affected by this issue,” Bergg said in a statement to WoodTV.
The fire was discovered at an outdoor parking lot that holds vehicles for quality checks, according to Reuters. Two other vehicles were damaged by the fire, but no injuries were reported, Bergg said.
Ford said it believes it has identified the cause of the battery issue and the set of manufactured trucks that would be susceptible to the problem.
“We monitor vehicle data to help ensure our vehicles are performing as expected in the field,” Bergg added, per WoodTV.
Ford will place a hold on already-manufactured trucks while engineering and production alterations are made.
F-150 Lightning’s batteries are made by SK Innovation, a Korean brand that has a factory in Georgia, according to WoodTV.
Ford sold 15,617 Ford F-150 Lightning models in 2022, the truck’s first full year of production, and the car has considerable unmet demand. Since its launch, the F-150 lightning has been the best-selling electric pickup truck in America, according to Ford CEO Jim Farley.
Bergg said there is a backlog of 200,000 reservations for the F-150 Lightning after it stopped taking orders in December 2021.
On Ford’s fourth-quarter earnings call earlier this month, Farley said, “At this point in our journey, I did not expect to be number two in EV sales in the U.S. I didn’t know that Lightning would be completely sold out.”
Ford is not the first company that has faced problems with the lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles, with GM, Hyundai, and BMW issuing previous recalls of their batteries, WoodTV reported. Battery fires also pose a problem for firefighters as they can require thousands of gallons of water to extinguish, the outlet added.
