Ford boosts production of F-150 Lightning electric ute and Mustang Mach-E

American automaker Ford has announced it will increase production at its North American manufacturing plants to meet strong demand for its increasingly popular electric vehicles (EVs).

In an effort to meet increased demand of its EVs – through the first two months of the year, Ford’s EV sales are up 68% – Ford will boost production of the Mustang Mach-E SUV, F-150 Lightning pickup truck/ute, and the E-Transit van.

Ford has already begun increasing production of its Mustang Mach-E SUV, with plans to nearly double hourly production at its Cuautitlán manufacturing plant in Mexico and bring its annual output to a targeted 210,000 units by year’s end.

The update follows production of the 150,000^th Mustang Mach-E late last year after only two years of production. Demand of the Mach-E has been such that Ford attributes its recent elevation to No. 2 in US EV sales in 2022 as buoyed by the SUV.

“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.”

Meanwhile, at Ford’s Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Michigan, production of the company’s hugely popular F-150 Lightning pickup truck is on track to triple this year, targeting an annual production run rate of 150,000 by the end of 2023.

Already the best selling electric truck in the US with sales of 3,600 through February to add to the 15,617 recorded in 2022, Lightning production will resume next week. To support production growth for the F-150, Ford is investing $US2 billion across three Michigan plants and adding 3,200 jobs.