Ford F-150 Lightning EV production to be halted at least through end of next week

DETROIT – Ford Motor expects accumulation of its electrical F-150 Lightning pickup to beryllium down done astatine slightest the extremity of adjacent week to code a imaginable artillery issue, the automaker said Wednesday.

The updated timing comes a time aft Ford confirmed accumulation of the highly watched conveyance had been suspended astatine the opening of past week pursuing 1 conveyance displaying a occupation with the artillery during a pre-delivery prime inspection.

Ford said Wednesday it believes engineers person recovered the basal origin of the issue. The probe into the occupation is expected to beryllium completed by the extremity of adjacent week, followed by adjustments to the truck's artillery accumulation process that "could instrumentality a fewer weeks."

A Ford spokeswoman declined to disclose further details of the issue, which led to the accumulation halt arsenic good arsenic a stop-shipment connected already-produced trucks.

The institution said it is not alert of immoderate incidents of this contented successful vehicles that person already been delivered to customers and dealers. Retailers tin proceed to merchantability vehicles that they whitethorn already person successful stock.

The F-150 Lightning is being intimately watched by investors, arsenic it's the archetypal mainstream electrical pickup motortruck connected the marketplace and a large motorboat for Ford.

The artillery contented adds to ongoing "execution issues" elaborate to investors earlier this period by Ford CEO Jim Farley that crippled the automaker's fourth-quarter earnings.

Farley reiterated Wednesday that the automaker needs to bash amended operationally to beryllium much profitable and bring margins in-line with competitors. He said Ford is little profitable than its bequest peers due to the fact that it has a outgo disadvantage of betwixt $7 cardinal and $8 billion.

"We tin chopped the cost, we tin chopped people, we tin bash that truly rapidly and we'll bash immoderate we request to," Farley said during a Wolfe Research conference. "The world is if you don't alteration the ratio of engineering, proviso concatenation and manufacturing, the basal enactment statement, the mode radical work, the ratio of that it'll turn back

Farley aboriginal added, "This is truly astir redesigning what we bash successful the 120-year-old portion of the company."