Ford F-150 Lightning : Pre-production begins

• Pre-production of Ford’s all-electric pickup is beginning

• Sales should begin next spring

• Ford is also adding jobs and investing heavily in Michigan

Things seem to be going quite well for Ford, the automaker has announced many new investments in Michigan as well as 450 new jobs in three factories just as pre-production begins for the all-electric F-150 Lightning.

Since the Lightning is the first electric pickup truck produced by an established automaker, demand is strong and Ford has already received more than 150,000 reservations for it.

In order to increase production, the company is investing $250 million and adding 450 jobs across three facilities in Michigan, the historic Rouge Electric Vehicle Center where the truck is built, the Van Dyke Electric Powertrain Center where its motors will be made and the Rawsonville Components Plan, which will build the battery packs.

This latest sum brings Ford’s total investment in its home state to $7.7 billion since 2016. The company is also proud to say it retained 7,000 jobs in Michigan during the same period.

In addition, Ford has made its part to preserve the state’s history by acquiring and renovating the Michigan Central Station, an historic building that had been abandoned for 30 years which will become part of a new research and development campus focused on electric and autonomous vehicles.

Unfortunately, these measures should only increase production of the F-150 Lightning up to 80,000 units a year, which means a waiting time close to two years will face people who have already made a deposit to reserve their vehicle and even longer for potential new customers.

Still, Ford says it is on track to deliver the first F-150 Lightning pickups in the spring of 2022.