Ford F-150 Lightning Production Halted - Battery Issue

Ford has confirmed that it halted shipments and production of the Ford F-150 Lightning, the automakers electric pickup truck.

The statement, as released by Ford Feb. 14 noted: "We have stopped building and shipping F-150 Lightnings. As part of our pre-delivery quality inspections, a vehicle displayed a potential battery issue, and we are holding vehicles while we investigate root cause. We are not aware of incidences of this issue with trucks in customers' hands."

The production stop was issued at the start of the week of Feb 6, 2023.

Reuters reports the that the "battery unit of South Korea's SK Innovation Co. Ltd. supplies the batteris to Ford."

The batteries used in the Ford F-150 Lightning are Lithium-ion pouch with internal battery management, liquid cooled and are available in:

• 98 kWh (standard).
• 131 kWh (extended-range). 

This report comes on the heels of Ford announcing their goals to rapidly scale EVs and "plans to lead the electric revolution." 

First reported by CNBC and Ford Authority, Work Truck will provide updates to this matter as they come. 

Popular Fleet Model

The Ford F-150 Lightning has become a popular fleet pickup for those looking to electrify their operations. In late 2022, Sunrun announced the addition of the electric pickup to its fleet as well as SDG&E. 

But, one fleet manager who wished to remain anonymous, noted the increasing challenges with quality control across all fleet vehicles, instituting quality control checks at vehicle delivery, often finding several quality issues from coolant leaks on. Concerns about overall vehicle quality has been increasing with fleet managers around the U.S.