Over the past few years, Ford has released a slew of wildly popular vehicles, from the Mustang Mach-E to the Maverick pickup to the F-150 Lightning. This is good news. The bad news is that, at least for Ford and its buyers, the Blue Oval doesn’t seem to be keeping up with demand. That could change that, with Ford recently announcing a production ramp-up, resulting in an additional shift and sales boost for the automaker’s EV models.
Ford said it would boost production at its plants across North America, noting a new shift at its Kansas City assembly plant to increase E-Transit production. It’s also looking for ways to increase output at its Dearborn truck plant, where the F-150 is built.
Despite recently halting production at its Rouge Electric Vehicle Center due to issues with the F-150 Lightning battery, Ford recently announced the restart of the plant and said it would invest $2 billion to ramp up truck production. The move will also bring an additional 3,200 union jobs to the site.
Production of the Bronco Sport and Maverick will increase by more than 80,000 units in 2023, and the Mustang Mach-E will increase to 210,000 units by the end of the year. Both gas and electric Transit models will be added, and Ford says it will invest $95 million to add 1,100 jobs and increase production by 38,000 vehicles.
That’s great news for Ford buyers and should take some pressure off the automaker’s order and reservation process, but it’s interesting to see the announcement right now. The F-150 Lightning has been out for almost a year, and there’s still a long waiting list to get one. The same is true for Maverick, late last year we saw wait times stretched to six months or more for some Mach-E variants.
While waiting months to get a new car is annoying, the challenge isn’t as big as Ford’s sales numbers. The automaker reported that it was the No. 1 selling brand in the U.S., and (unsurprisingly) noted that it retained its title as the top truck maker. Its EV sales also jumped 68%, suggesting the long wait hasn’t deterred buyers.
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