Ford to increase NA production on selective lines

Ford says it is increasing production at manufacturing plants across North America to meet strong customer demand for vehicles including Mustang Mach-E, F-150 Lightning, Bronco Sport and Maverick.

“We have had a strong start to 2023 sales and we are moving to fast-track quality production,” said Kumar Galhotra, president, Ford Blue. “Increasing production benefits both our customers and our business.”

The Ford brand enjoyed a strong February in the US marketplace. It was the top selling overall brand as well as the top truck manufacturer and SUV brand.

In February, Ford’s US market share increased by 1.4 percentage points to 13.3 percent, powered by a 21.9 percent sales increase.

Ford outlined a number of specific output plan changes in North America in response to demand.

Ford began increasing production of the Mustang Mach-E last week. Changes at the plant will allow Ford to nearly double its hourly production and bring its annual manufacturing run rate to a targeted 210,000 units by year’s end, the company says.

Ford is increasing production for Bronco Sport and Maverick. Production is targeted to increase by more than 80,000 units this year, helping to meet demand in both North and South America.

F-150 Lightning production will resume March 13. Overall, for the F-150 Lightning production increase, Ford is investing $2 billion across three plants in Michigan and adding 3,200 union jobs.

In Michigan, production of the F-150 Lightning at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center is on track to triple this year, targeting an annual production run rate of 150,000 by the end of 2023. The F-150 Lightning, the best-selling electric truck in the US, had sales of 3,600 through February, in addition to the 15,617 sales recorded in 2022.

Ford is also adding an additional crew in April is Kansas City Assembly Plant, which manufactures the Transit and the E-Transit vans. Ford is targeting an annual production increase of 38,000. Ford is investing $95 million and adding 1,100 union jobs as part of the production increase.

Ford also said it is looking at ways to increase production at the Dearborn Truck Plant of the F-150 petrol and hybrid trucks to meet continued strong demand.

David Leggett

@dave_gdauto Just Auto’s Editor since 2000. Past positions include head of automotive forecasting at the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), forecast analyst at IHS Markit and senior economist at the UK’s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).