Ford introduces F-150 Lightning order at 200,000 – CEO Farley

An all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning truck prototype is seen at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan, U.S. September 16, 2021 REUTERS / Rebecca Cook / File Photo

December 9, 2021

(Reuters) – Ford Motor has stopped taking reservations for its upcoming F-150 Lightning electric pickup, Chief Executive Officer Jim Farley told CNBC host Jim Cramer on Thursday.

Farley said orders for the F-150 Lightning have been capped at 200,000: “We had to stop taking pre-orders because we had too many.”

Ford initially installed production capacity for 70,000-80,000 Lightnings per year, he said, and is now aiming to double that within the next two years, he said.

“We don’t want to build these cars in a tent,” joked Farley, referring to Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s decision to expand production a few years ago by adding a tent to the company’s Fremont factory.

“We wanted to build them at the Rouge plant” near Ford’s headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan.

(Reporting by Paul Lienert in Detroit, Editing by Franklin Paul)