Ford pauses production on its F-150 Lightning truck over

Ford Motor Tuesday said it’s pausing production on its popular F-150 Lightning because the electric pickup truck might have a battery problem. 

“As part of our pre-delivery quality inspections, a vehicle displayed a potential battery issue and we are holding vehicles while we investigate,” a Ford spokesperson told CBS MoneyWatch on Tuesday. “We are not aware of any incidents of this issue in the field.”

The Michigan automaker began selling the F-150 Lightning last year. Company officials did not give a timeline for when production may restart. The production pause threatens Ford’s plan to deliver 600,000 Lightnings in 2023. 

The spokesperson also didn’t say what the pause means for trucks already on dealership lots or in owner driveways. 

Since their release last May, Ford has sold 15,617 of the electric trucks, according to the most recent company data available. The company sold 2,436 of them in October, the most ever sold in one month.

Soaring demand for EVs

Ford is betting big on the F-150 Lightning, investing millions of dollars on a new facilty for a vehicle that’s already won 2023 MotorTrend Truck of the Year. 

When company officials first announced the truck in 2021, demand quickly soared as the pre-order list surpassed 100,000 within three weeks. Workers are building the vehicle in a new plant built in Dearborn, Michigan.

Ford’s pause comes as interest and demand for electric vehicles continues to soar in the U.S. A survey from motor club AAA found that about a quarter of Americans say they want to get an electric vehicle as their next car purchase. Research from Recurrent, a car industry analysis company, found that interest in buying an electric vehicle has soared 70% since last January.

Ford raised the price of the F-150 Lightning in October as it sought to offset rising manufacturing costs. Other automakers also hiked the cost of their EV lines — including Rivian, GM and Tesla — amid soaring metal prices and higher costs for components like lithium, which is used to make batteries. 

Ford earlier this month reported $1.3 billion in profit for the fourth quarter of 2022, down roughly 89% from the same period last year. CEO Jim Farley said in an earnings call this month that he’s frustrated with the 2022 performance “because the year could have been so much more for us at Ford.”

Ford’s stock price fell nearly 1% in trading Tuesday to about $13 a share.