By Michael Elkins
American vehicle maker, Ford (NYSE:F) is increasing production of its most popular vehicles, including the Mustang Mach-E, F-150 Lightning, Bronco Sport, and Maverick. The company is also preparing to launch all-new versions of four significant vehicles in 2023: Super Duty®, Ranger®, Mustang®, and Escape®.
"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."
Ford's Mustang Mach-E helped propel Ford to No. 2 in U.S. EV sales in 2022 and is bringing new customers to Ford, with more than two-thirds of customers coming from other makes. Changes at the company's Mach-E plant will allow Ford to nearly double its hourly production and bring its annual manufacturing run rate to a targeted 210,000 units by year's end.
Production on the Bronco Sport and Maverick is targeted to increase by more than 80,000 units this year, helping to meet demand in both North and South America. In the U.S., Ford brand SUV sales totaled 777,770, up 4.6% in 2022 versus 2021 while the Maverick was the No. 1 small truck in America in 2022.
The F-150 Lightning, the best-selling electric truck in the U.S., had sales of 3,600 through February, in addition to the 15,617 sales recorded in 2022. In Michigan, production of the F-150 Lightning at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center is on track to triple this year, targeting an annual production run rate of 150,000 by the end of 2023. F-150 Lightning production will resume on March 13. Overall, for the F-150 Lightning production increase, Ford is investing $2 billion across three plants in Michigan and adding 3,200 union jobs.
Ford is also looking at ways to increase production at the Dearborn Truck Plant of the F-150 gas and hybrid trucks to meet continued strong demand. The F-Series holds the title of America’s best-selling truck for 46 consecutive years.
For the Transit and E-Transit, Ford is targeting an annual production increase of 38,000. Ford is investing $95 million and adding 1,100 union jobs as part of the production increase.
Ford has been America's number 1 selling brand, as well as the top truck manufacturer and SUV brand, through February. The company's EV sales are also up 68%.
In February, Ford's U.S. market share increased by 1.4 percentage points to 13.3 percent, powered by a 21.9 percent sales increase.
Shares of F are up 3.47% in mid-day trading on Friday.