DEARBORN (dpa-AFX) - Ford Motor (F) Thursday announced that it will invest an additional $250 million and add 450 more employees to increase production capacity for its all-electric F-150 Lightning pickup.
The Detroit-based auto giant said it is investing an additional $250 million and adding 450 more direct jobs across the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center, Van Dyke Electric Powertrain Center and Rawsonville Components Plant. The investment and added jobs will help increase production capacity to 80,000 trucks a year, which is up from 40,000 vehicles a year ago.
'We knew the F-150 Lightning was special, but the interest from the public has surpassed our highest expectations and changed the conversation around electric vehicles. So we are doubling down, adding jobs and investment to increase production,' said Bill Ford, executive chair, Ford Motor Company. 'This truck and the Ford-UAW workers who are assembling it in Michigan have a chance to make history and lead the electric vehicle movement in America.'
Ford has now invested about $950 million in production of a hybrid version of the truck and the electric F-150,. F-150 Lightning will start at a price of $40,000 and with a targeted driving range of 300 miles with the extended range battery.
Ford said it has received more than 150,000 reservations for the vehicle since its debut in May, up from 120,000 at the end of July.
'Electrifying the F-Series - America's best-selling truck for 44 years - and assembling at this high-tech facility in Michigan - represents a significant step toward mass adoption of electric vehicles in America,' said Kumar Galhotra, Ford's president of The Americas and International Markets Group. 'F-150 Lightning is intended to be more than a no-compromise zero tailpipe-emissions truck. It's packed with ingenious features and technology that will improve over time, it's exhilarating to drive and it can power your home and worksite.'
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