Ford hikes prices on its F-150 Lightning as production resumes after EV battery fire

Ford Motor said that it has resumed full production of its electric F-150 Lightning pickup following a February battery fire — and that it’s once again raising prices on the popular truck.

Ford said the standard-range Lightning Pro, a lower-cost version of the truck optimized for fleet use, will now start at just under $60,000, not including shipping. That’s roughly 50% higher than the Lightning Pro’s original starting price at launch last spring. Ford noted that the 2023 Lightning Pro is sold out for retail customers; order banks for fleet customers will reopen in April, the company said.

Ford also raised the price of the mid-level Lariat trim with standard-range battery from about $74,500 to just under $76,000. The starting price for a Lightning in the top-line Platinum trim also increased, from about $96,900 to just over $98,000.

News of the price increases and the resumption of Lightning production was first reported by Automotive News.

Ford has raised Lightning prices several times since it first announced the truck’s pricing in 2021. The standard-range Pro version was originally set to start at just under $40,000, but fast-rising costs of critical raw materials such as lithium, cobalt and nickel — and unexpectedly high demand for the electric pickup — led Ford to increase prices several times in 2022.

Ford halted production and shipments of the Lightning in February after a just-built truck awaiting a quality check caught fire in a Ford holding lot. The company subsequently identified a potential battery cell defect and recalled 18 Lightnings that may have had the same issue.

No other fires were reported, and Ford said at the time that it was unaware of any accidents or injuries related to the defect.

Shipments of the Lightning will also resume this week, a Ford spokesperson told CNBC.