- Ford is pausing production of the F-150 Lightning in the wake of a recent supplier fire that could cost the company billions.
- The Lightning's hiatus comes as Ford plans to prioritize production of its more profitable gas-fed F-150 and HD Super Duty trucks.
- To offset losses and meet demand, Ford says it plans to increase production of those trucks by over 50,000 in 2026.
The fire that occurred last month at a notable supplier is affecting numerous automakers, with the Ford Motor Company potentially taking the biggest hit. The company indicated in its third-quarter financial report that the incident at an aluminum sheet plant owned by Novelis in Oswego, New York, could cost between $1.5 to $2 billion. To recoup at least $1 billion of that loss, next year Ford plans to increase production of its hugely profitable F-series trucks, but that doesn't include the electric F-150 Lightning, which will be sidelined for the foreseeable future.
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Production of the Lightning, which is currently built at Ford's Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan, will be paused. That's according to an official announcement yesterday that highlights the automaker's plans to significantly boost the amount of gas-fed F-150 and HD Super Duty trucks that it will build in 2026.
Ford says the goal is to increase production of those trucks by over 50,000, with the ramp-up to that set to start in the first quarter of next year. That will involve adding a third shift at its Dearborn plant and up to 1000 new jobs, with up to 900 new positions at the Rouge facility and 100 new ones at the truck plant in Louisville, Kentucky.
Car and Driver has reached out to Ford to find out whether the Lightning's pause is indefinite or if there's a timeline for when production will resume. A spokesperson shared the following statement: "Right now, we’re focused on producing F-150 ICE and Hybrid as we recover from the fire at Novelis. We have good inventories of the F-150 Lightning and will bring Rouge Electric Vehicle Center (REVC) back up at the right time, but [we] don’t have an exact date at this time."
Eric Stafford’s automobile addiction began before he could walk, and it has fueled his passion to write news, reviews, and more for Car and Driver since 2016. His aspiration growing up was to become a millionaire with a Jay Leno–like car collection. Apparently, getting rich is harder than social-media influencers make it seem, so he avoided financial success entirely to become an automotive journalist and drive new cars for a living. After earning a journalism degree at Central Michigan University and working at a daily newspaper, the years of basically burning money on failed project cars and lemon-flavored jalopies finally paid off when Car and Driver hired him. His garage currently includes a 2010 Acura RDX, a manual '97 Chevy Camaro Z/28, and a '90 Honda CRX Si.
