- Ford is recalling 18 F-150 Lightning electric pickup trucks that the company has identified as potentially having a battery cell fault that caused a truck fire last month.
- The Detroit automaker said Friday that the small recall affects vehicles that have already been delivered to customers and dealerships.
- The automaker reiterated Friday that production of the F-150 Lightning is expected to resume Monday at one of its Michigan plants.
Ford CEO Jim Farley announced at a press conference that Ford Motor Company will partner with the world’s largest battery company, a China-based company called Contemporary Amperex Technology, to establish a battery factory of electric vehicles in Marshall, Michigan, on February 13. 2023 in Romulus, Michigan.
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DETROIT — Ford Motor is recalling 18 F-150 Lightning electric pickup trucks that the company identified as potentially having a battery cell fault that caused a truck fire last month.
The Detroit automaker said Friday that the small recall affects vehicles that have already been delivered to customers and dealerships. They were assembled with poorly produced battery cells that were built over a four-week period in a Georgian factory by supplier SK On.
A Ford spokeswoman declined to disclose how many trucks Ford owns that may have the problem. She said the company is “applying quality actions to vehicles already produced with batteries built within this four-week window that we maintained.”
The fire occurred on February 4 in a waiting lot during a pre-delivery quality check while the vehicle was under load. Ford suspended production of the vehicles and issued a shipping stop to dealers.
Ford has previously declined to release details of the issue that caused the vehicle to catch fire or the solution implemented. Additional details should be available when the National Highway Transportation Administration officially issues the recall notice.
Ford said it was not aware of any reports of accidents or injuries related to the battery issue or recall.
The automaker reiterated Friday that production of the F-150 Lightning is expected to resume Monday at one of its Michigan plants.
The F-150 Lightning is being watched closely by investors as it is the first consumer electric pickup truck on the market and a major launch for Ford.
Ford originally opened customer reservations for the F-150 Lightning when it was revealed in May 2021. More than 200,000 reservations were placed before Ford temporarily closed the process in an attempt to align production with expected demand. .
Ford has sold less than 20,000 all-electric trucks so far.