The Ford F-150 Lightning is out of the bottle again.
Ford has resumed manufacturing the all-electric pickup following a six-week pause that allowed it to upgrade the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Mich., where it is exclusively assembled.
The automaker said the improved production speed will allow it to build 70,000 trucks by the end of the year, at which time the factory will have reached an annualized run rate of 150,000 units.
Ford is bringing on 1,200 new employees and also increasing output at the plants that supply the battery packs and EV power units for the F-150 Lightning.
After several rounds of increases following its launch last year, Ford in July trimmed prices across the lineup by up to nearly $10,000 and brought the starting price for the Pro work truck trim to $51,990, while the XLT that accounts for more than half of the current orders now lists for $56,990.
Both come standard with a battery rated at 240 miles per charge, but the XLT is available with an extended range battery that provides 320 miles of driving for $71,990.
The price for the top of the line Premium with 300 miles of range has been reduced from $93,990 from $100,069.
Ford is racing to stay ahead of the competition in the full size electric truck segment as deliveries of the Chevrolet Silverado EV and Tesla Cybertruck are expected to begin soon.