[ad_1]
F-150 Lightning manufacturing resumes at Ford’s Rouge Electrical Car Heart following six-week retooling and growth mission; facility is now on monitor to triple its manufacturing capability to a focused annual run charge of 150,000 items by this fall
Ford Motor Firm has resumed manufacturing of the F-150 Lightning following a six-week shutdown to develop and retool the Rouge Electrical Car Heart plant to triple manufacturing capability of the award-winning electrical truck.
With the growth, Ford can have capability to provide the F-150 Lightning at an annualized charge of 150,000 items by this fall.
Whereas the short-term shutdown of the Rouge Electrical Car Heart restricted buyer deliveries this summer time, the power is now able to speed up the ramp-up course of to unlock provide and assist meet demand for the truck. The Rouge Electrical Car Heart is scheduled to construct greater than 70,000 F-150 Lightning vehicles in calendar 12 months 2023 with manufacturing for U.S. clients anticipated to ramp within the fall.
“We’re all wanting ahead to getting these F-150 Lightning vehicles into the palms of our clients – from the U.S. to Norway,” mentioned Debbie Manzano, director of producing, Ford. “This milestone is the results of loads of exhausting work and collaboration.”
New tooling helps Ford’s drive for top of the range. The Rouge Electrical Car Heart now makes use of tools to robotically measure and validate exterior physique match for margin and flushness precision. It’s the primary time such instruments have been deployed in Ford’s North American vegetation. A 3rd station was added to validate wheel alignment and headlamp goal for driver help expertise.
Coaching for 1,200 extra manufacturing staff will proceed for 3 weeks. Incoming operators are shadowing skilled staff in a buddy system for speedy onboarding.
Battery pack manufacturing can also be ramping up on the Rawsonville (Mich.) Elements Plant and the Van Dyke (Mich.) Electrical Powertrain Heart is growing manufacturing of EV energy items to match the dimensions of F-150 Lightning meeting on the Rouge Electrical Car Heart.
Assembly buyer demand
The capability enhance on the Rouge Electrical Car Heart helps shorter order-to-delivery instances for patrons with a give attention to constructing high-demand trim ranges like XLT, which accounts for over 50% of latest orders. Lightning Professional items are actually accessible for retail clients in restricted portions, with these items allotted for loyal reservation holders who’ve been ready to order since launch.
Lately adjusted pricing, whereas nonetheless above launch pricing, has helped to drive a threefold enhance in net visitors and a sixfold enhance in buyer orders as Lightning turns into extra accessible to a broader phase of customers.
The elevated capability additionally opens up the chance to broaden the variety of trim ranges supplied throughout the lineup, addressing buyer needs since reveal.
“We now have realized quite a bit from our first-ever EV truck clients, together with a choice for expertise and visible differentiation,” mentioned Marin Gjaja, chief buyer officer, Mannequin e. “We proceed to refine the F-150 Lightning lineup to make the bounce to an EV truck a simple alternative for patrons.”
The 2023 MotorTrend Truck of the 12 months winner, F-150 Lightning is the neatest, most modern F-150 that Ford has ever constructed, with the liberty of an accessible 9.6-kilowatt sensible energy plant on wheels with Professional Energy Onboard, accessible Shopper Studies top-rated Lively Driving Help System, Ford BlueCruise, and Constructed Ford Powerful functionality.
By addressing affordability with new pricing, serving to to scale back wait instances and taking a management strategy to charging infrastructure, Ford goals to steer the business in making a customer-focused transition to EV adoption. The corporate is engineering its second technology of electrical autos constructing on the success of its first technology, which incorporates F-150 Lightning, Mustang Mach-E and E-Transit.
SOURCE: Ford
[ad_2]