Ford boosts prices on its F-150 Lightning after an EV battery fire halted production

The Ford Motor Company announced that it has restarted full production of its electric F-150 Lightning pickup following a battery fire that occurred earlier this year - and that it has increased the price of the popular vehicle again.

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Ford has announced that the standard-range Lightning Pro, a version of it that is designed for fleet use and is more affordable, will now start at just under $60,000, not including shipping. It is roughly half as much as the Lightning Pro's original starting price when it was launched last spring, which is about 50% more. In order to ensure timely delivery of the 2023 Lightning Pro, Ford noted that the order banks for fleet customers will reopen in April, the company said.

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Additionally, Ford raised the price of the mid-range Lariat trim with a standard-range battery from just under $76,000 to about $74,500, the same price as the base model. Lightning models that come in top-end Platinum trim have also seen an increase in price, with the starting price going up from about $96,900 to just over $98,000.

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Initially, Automotive News broke the news of the price hikes and the resumption of Lightning production, which were the first reports to surface.

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The Lightning truck's price has been raised a number of times since Ford announced the truck's pricing in the year 2021. Ford was originally planning to begin selling the electric pickup in 2022 at just under $40,000 for the standard-range Pro version, however, fast-rising prices of critical raw materials such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel - and unexpectedly high demand for the electric pickup - forced Ford to raise the prices several times during that year.

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In February, Ford halted production and shipments of the Lightning after a newly built truck waiting for a quality check caught fire on a Ford holding lot while it was awaiting a quality check. A potential battery cell defect was identified later on by the company and 18 Lightnings that may have had the same problem were recalled.

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It has been reported that no other fires have occurred, and Ford said at the time that no accidents or injuries have been reported related to the defect since the recall.

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There will also be a restart of Lightning shipments at Ford's plant this week, a spokesperson for the company told Trade Algo.