Ford extends F-150 Lightning production pause, hold on shipments for another week

Ford Motor Co. is extending the downtime at an F-150 Lightning plant in Dearborn, Mich., for an additional week following a battery fire in a truck earlier this month.

The automaker, in a statement, said battery-supplier SK On has made some manufacturing changes and restarted production at its plant in Georgia.

“The teams worked quickly to identify the root cause of the issue,” Ford spokeswoman Jennifer Flake said in an email. “We agree with SK’s recommended changes in their equipment and processes for SK’s cell production lines.

"SK has started building battery cells again in Commerce, Ga. It will take SK time to ensure they are back to building high-quality cells and to deliver them to the Lightning production line. Ford’s Rouge Electric Vehicle Center will suspend production through the end of next week, and we’ll continue to provide updates.”

Flake said the hold on Lightning shipments to dealerships will continue an extra week.

The fire in a truck occurred in a Dearborn holding lot on Feb. 4 during a pre-delivery quality inspection and spread to two other vehicles, according to the company.

Ford has said it is not aware of any issues with vehicles already in customer hands.

SK On has said it believes the incident was a “rare occurrence.”

CNBC reported the extended downtime earlier Friday.