Ford Starts Production Of Electric F-150

The first all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning rolled off the assembly line in Detroit on Tuesday, with a great deal riding on its launch for both the company and electric vehicles overall.

Interest and demand in the vehicles have been very strong, with Ford taking 200,000 preorders for the electric version of the pickup that has been the nation's best-selling vehicle for nearly a half century.

But despite the interest from buyers, it's not a given that Ford will be able to pull off the launch without problems.

The automaker has had repeated issues in recent years with the launch of new versions of its most popular vehicles, most notably the 2019 launch of the Ford Explorer SUV. Quality problems with that launch cost the company billions and played a big role in the departure of two executives.

"There's a lot riding on it," said Michelle Krebs, executive analyst for Cox Automotive. "Ford has had its troubles with launches and now added to that there are all of these supply chain issues."

Virtually all automakers have had to scale back production of new vehicles due to a shortage of computer chips and other parts and materials, often temporarily shutting factories. Those production bottlenecks have led to limited supply of vehicles, which in turn has resulted in record high car prices for consumers.

Read the full article from CNN here.