Ford leverages EV production head start against rivals in latest ramp
Ford has announced a massive ramp-up in electric vehicle production this year to leverage its lead over its traditional rivals.
Although Ford is entering the EV market well behind Tesla and even lagging behind General Motors, its vehicles have quickly overtaken its traditional competitors, making the Blue Oval the second most popular EV brand in the United States. Now Ford has announced its latest EV production ram, hoping to secure its lead as more competitors enter the market in the years to come.
The recent electric vehicle production ramp-up aims to boost production of Ford’s most popular models. The Ford Mustang Mach-E, the electric SUV that helped solidify Ford’s lead in electric vehicles after its launch in 2021 and remains the brand’s most popular electric vehicle, is suffering the biggest hit during the F-150 Lightning and E-Transit subsequently suffered minor production losses.
The Mustang Mach-E production ramp-up began last week and aims to double hourly production, with a year-end target of an annual production rate of 210,000 vehicles. The F-150 Lightning, which will resume production on the 13th of this month, aims to triple annual production by the end of the year, for an annual production rate of 150,000 vehicles. The truck’s production ramp will cost $2 billion at three Ford Michigan manufacturing plants, including its main manufacturing facility, the Rouge EV Center.
The E-Transit is getting a more conservative production boost, targeting an annual run rate of 38,000 vehicles at the Kansas City Assembly Plant, which makes the Transit and E-Transit vans.
Other popular models, including the Ford Maverick and Ford Bronco Sport, are also getting production ramps to help the Blue Oval stay ahead of demand for the popular, affordable models.
Ford’s latest EV production push is part of its larger plan to reach an annual production rate of 2 million vehicles by 2026.
The production surge follows Ford’s recently announced sales statistics for February, in which electric vehicle sales rose 68%, helping the company increase its overall market share by 1.4%.
Ford’s aggressive EV production surge only becomes far more apparent when compared to its three big siblings. General Motors, which beat Ford in the EV market with the popular Chevy Bolt model, has yet to unveil competitors for Ford’s Mustang Mach-E or F-150 Lighting and expects to start production of its Chevy Silverado EV later this year . Those looking for a mid-size electric SUV from GM, like the Chevy Equinox EV or Blazer EV, will have to wait even longer, as both models will launch sometime in 2024.
That’s not to say GM hasn’t planned a production ramp at all. General Motors CEO Mary Barra has announced that the automaker will produce 400,000 electric vehicles “in North America in 2022 and 2023.” However, model-specific production numbers have not yet been released.
Stellantis brands are even further behind. RAM plans to introduce its first all-electric truck, the RAM 1500 REV, in 2025. Dodge has yet to unveil any EVs in production-ready form. And while Jeep recently launched its first electric vehicle in Europe, it’s only slightly ahead of its sibling brands, with the first Jeep electric vehicles also coming to North America in 2025.
Ford will remain the electrification leader, at least relative to the other big three and potentially the world leader, and this significant increase in EV production will likely be critical to maintaining that position.
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