Ford has extended the production pause at its F-150 Lightning plant for an additional week following a battery issue that resulted in one electric pickup truck catching fire early this month. On February 24, Ford issued a press statement announcing that production will be suspended from February 27 through March 3, despite the fact that its battery supplier SK has resumed production of battery cells at its plant in Georgia.
The statement sent to several news outlets reads that Ford’s engineers worked quickly to identify the root cause of the issue and agreed with SK’s recommended changes in their equipment and processes for SK’s cell production lines. However, it will take SK time to ensure they are back to building high-quality cells and to deliver them to the Lightning production line.
The battery fire occurred on February 4 in a holding lot during a pre-delivery quality check while the vehicle was charging. Ford suspended production and issued a stop-shipment of the vehicles to dealers, but did not issue a stop-sale of F-150 Lightnings that were already on dealer lots when the issue was spotted. The company said its engineers found no evidence of a charging fault.
Neither Ford nor SK have publicly revealed the exact issue that caused an F-150 Lightning to catch fire in a holding lot on February 4 in Michigan. Unless SK made a change in its production processes around that date, the issue may also impact battery packs built after the one that caught fire.
Ford has extended the production pause at its F-150 Lightning plant for an additional week due to a battery issue that caused one electric pickup truck to catch fire early this month. On February 24, Ford issued a press statement announcing that production will be suspended from February 27 through March 3, despite the fact that its battery supplier SK has resumed production of battery cells at its plant in Georgia.
The statement sent to several news outlets reads that Ford’s engineers worked quickly to identify the root cause of the issue and agreed with SK’s recommended changes in their equipment and processes for SK’s cell production lines. However, it will take SK time to ensure they are back to building high-quality cells and to deliver them to the Lightning production line.
Ford has not yet revealed the exact issue that caused an F-150 Lightning to catch fire in a holding lot on February 4 in Michigan. Unless SK made a change in its production processes around that date, the issue may also impact battery packs built after the one that caught fire. The company said its engineers found no evidence of a charging fault, but it is not aware of any incidents of this issue in vehicles that have been already shipped to customers and dealers.
Ford’s extended production pause is intended to ensure that all F-150 Lightnings are safe and reliable for customers. We’ll keep you posted on any new developments.
FAQ
Q1: Are electric car batteries recyclable?
A1: Yes, electric car batteries are recyclable.
Q2: Are electric car chargers free?
A2: It depends on the charger and the location. Some electric car chargers are free, while others may require a fee.
Q3: Can electric car batteries be rebuilt?
A3: Yes, electric car batteries can be rebuilt with the right tools and knowledge.
