Ford stopped shipping F-150 Lightning electric pickups

By Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN

(CNN) — Ford stopped shipping its all-electric F-150 Lightning pickups and has been holding them for quality inspections since February 9.

Ford spokesperson Emma Bergg would not specify any particular quality concern that engendered the shipment pause, calling holds like this a fairly routine part of the manufacturing process as vehicle production shifts into a new model year. Ford recently began shipping new 2024 model year F-150 gasoline-powered and hybrid trucks.

The shipment pause was first reported by the industry newspaper Automotive News.

Ford sells far more gasoline- and hybrid-powered F-150s than the battery-powered Lightning. The F-series of full-size pickups have been the best selling vehicle of any type in America for more than 40 years. Last year, Ford sold 750,000 F-series trucks, of which about 24,000 were Lightnings.

Ford dealers currently have F-150 Lightning trucks in their inventory, Berg said, so customers should be able to find trucks to buy until shipments start again.

Almost exactly one year ago, Ford halted Lightning production because of a possible battery issue. Production was restarted a few weeks later.

The Lightning is one of two all-electric vehicles Ford offers in the US. The other is the Mustang Mach-E, a close competitor to the Tesla Model Y. Last year, Ford sold slightly more than 40,000 Mach-E SUVs.

Ford chief executive Jim Farley recently revealed that Ford has had a team of engineers working on engineering for future electric vehicles.

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