After several announcements related to increasing the price, Ford is taking advantage of increased plant capacity, continued work on scaling production and cost, and improving battery raw material costs to help lower the MSRP of the Ford F-150 Lightning work truck for all customers.

Ford reported a six week shut down at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Michigan to complete final plant upgrades.

During the shutdown, Rouge Electric Vehicle Center limited customer deliveries this summer, the facility is now ready to accelerate the process to unlock supply and help meet demand for the truck.

The Rouge Electric Vehicle Center is scheduled to build more than 70,000 F-150 Lightning trucks in calendar year 2023 with production for U.S. customers expected to ramp in the fall. 

Ford reported on August 1, the plant has resumed production. With the expansion, Ford will have the ability to produce the F-150 Lightning at an annualized rate of 150,000 units by this fall. 

Rouge Electric Vehicle Center Upgrades

The Rouge Electric Vehicle Center now uses equipment to automatically measure and validate exterior body fit for margin and flushness precision. It’s the first time such tools have been deployed in Ford’s North American plants.

A third station was added to validate wheel alignment and headlamp aim for driver assist technology.  

Training for 1,200 additional manufacturing employees will continue for three weeks. Incoming operators are shadowing experienced employees in a buddy system for rapid onboarding.

Battery pack production is also ramping up at the Rawsonville (Mich.) Components Plant and the Van Dyke (Mich.) Electric Powertrain Center is increasing production of EV power units to match the scale of F-150 Lightning assembly at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center. 

Focusing on High Demand

The capacity increase at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center supports shorter order-to-delivery times for customers with a focus on building high-demand trim levels like XLT, which accounts for over 50% of new orders.

Lightning Pro units are now available for retail customers in limited quantities, with these units allocated for loyal reservation holders who have been waiting to order since launch. 

Recently adjusted pricing, while still above launch pricing, has helped to drive a threefold increase in web traffic and a sixfold increase in customer orders as Lightning becomes more accessible to a broader segment of shoppers. 

The increased capacity also opens up the opportunity to broaden the number of trim levels offered across the lineup, addressing customer wants since reveal.

Decreasing Work Truck Pricing at Ford

The upgrades at the plant, combined with improving battery raw material costs and continued work on scaling production and cost, help make it possible to lower pricing across the F-150 Lightning line.

Work truck fleets now have greater availability of their built-to-order truck as early as October at an MSRP closer to initial Lightning pricing.

“Shortly after launching the F-150 Lightning, rapidly rising material costs, supply constraints and other factors drove up the cost of the EV truck for Ford and our customers,” said Marin Gjaja, chief customer officer, Ford Model e. “We’ve continued to work in the background to improve accessibility and affordability to help to lower prices for our customers and shorten the wait times for their new F-150 Lightning.”

The announcement of this price decrease comes after three increases in a row in 2023. The increases had been attributed to "current material costs, market factors, and supply chain constraints."

Tax Credits & Charging Access

The 2023 MotorTrend Truck of the Year, most F-150 Lightning models are also eligible for as much as $7,500 in potential Inflation Reduction Act consumer and commercial electric vehicle tax credits, making it an even more enticing option for eligible customers considering an electric pickup truck.

Starting early next year, all F-150 Lightning customers will have access to more than 12,000 Tesla Superchargers across the U.S. and Canada. Commercial customers can also access Ford Pro Charging solutions to keep their F-150 Lightning powered up whether they need to charge at home or onsite at work.

Customers can order their F-150 Lightning from their local dealer here or in-store.

Editor's Note: This article was originally published in July 2023 and has since been updated.