Ford is increasing production of several models to keep up with high demand. At some factories, this also means adding more workers.
The Ford Mustang Mach-E sees the biggest production increase in this announcement. Ford is tweaking the plant so that it can nearly double the hourly production of the EV. With these changes, the automaker expects to build 210,000 units by the end of the year.
Ford will also build more units of the Bronco Sport and Maverick pickup. The company projects production to increase by 80,000 examples this year.
The automaker believes it can triple production of the F-150 Lightning at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center this year. This would amount to annual assembly of 150,000 examples by the end of 2023. To fund this, Ford is putting $2 billion into three plants in Michigan and adding 3,200 union jobs.
Ford moved 15,617 units of the Lightning in 2022. Through February 2023, it delivered 3,600 examples of the electric pickup. In the same period, the automaker’s sales of EVs, in general, are up 68 percent.
The company is investing $95 million to add 1,100 union jobs at the Kansas City Assembly Plant. Increased production of the Transit and E-Transit vans begins there in April. The company expects to increase assembly of these models by 38,000 units a year.
“We have had a strong start to 2023 and we are moving to fast-track quality production,” said Kumar Galhotra, president of Ford Blue.
While a production increase isn’t happening yet, Ford is exploring ways to build more units of the F-150 at the Dearborn Truck Plant.
Beyond building more of these models, Ford has several vehicles joining the lineup this year. A new generation of the Super Duty is coming this spring. The next-gen Mustang is also on the way. The Escape has a refresh on the horizon. Plus, the North American version of the Ranger finally arrives. Production reportedly begins on July 10, according to a rumor.
