Ford has had a string of ultra-desirable vehicle releases over the last few years, from the Mustang Mach-E to the Maverick pickup to the F-150 Lightning. That’s the good news. The bad news, at least for Ford and its buyers, is that The Blue Oval can’t seem to keep pace with demand. That could change with Ford’s recent announcement of production increases, bringing additional shifts and a volume boost for the automaker’s EV models.
Ford said it would bump production numbers at its locations across North America and noted a new shift at its Kansas City Assembly Plant to increase E-Transit output. It’s also looking at ways to increase production at its Dearborn Truck Plant, where it builds the F-150.
Though it recently stopped the production lines at its Rouge Electric Vehicle Center due to F-150 Lightning battery issues, Ford recently announced a restart for the factory and said it’s investing $2 billion to boost production of the truck. The move will also bring an additional 3,200 union jobs to the location.
The Bronco Sport and Maverick will see a production increase of more than 80,000 units in 2023, and the Mustang Mach-E will get a boost to 210,000 units by the end of the year. Both Transit variants, gas and electric, will see increases, and Ford said it would invest $95 million to add 1,100 jobs and increase production by 38,000 units.
This is good news for Ford buyers and should take some pressure off the automaker’s order and reservations process, but it’s interesting to see this announcement now. The F-150 Lightning has been out for almost a year, and there’s still a severe waiting list to get one. The same is true for the Maverick, and late last year, we discovered that some Mach-E variants have wait times extending to six months or more.
While waiting months for a new car is annoying, the challenges haven’t been that big of a speed bump to Ford’s sales numbers. The automaker reported that it was the number-one selling brand in America and (unsurprisingly) noted that it retained the title of the top truck manufacturer. Its EV sales are up 68 percent, too, showing that long waits don’t deter buyers.
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