Ford to double electric F-150 output

Amid a surge of interest, Ford Motor Co announced on Tuesday that it would nearly double production capacity for the electric version of its top-selling F-150 pickup truck.

“The US automaker now aims to produce 150,000 units a year of the F-150 Lightning, with the first deliveries due in the spring, pulling out all the stops to boost output at its electric vehicle plant in Dearborn, Michigan,’’ the company said in a statement.

Ford initially planned to build 40,000 trucks year, but after a flood of orders raised the target to 80,000.

The company is working with supplier and at its own facilities to ramp up output of key parts like electric batteries.

“With nearly 200,000 reservations, our teams are working hard and creatively to break production constraints to get more F-150 Lightning trucks into the hands of our customers,” said Kumar Galhotra, president of Ford’s Americas & International Markets Group.

“About three-fourths of the reservations for the popular truck are from customers who have never owned a Ford,’’ the statement said.

The race for dominance of the electric car market is intensifying in the United States and Ford plans to invest a total of more than $30 billion in the segment by 2025.

The manufacturer had already announced it would increase production capacities for its first electric Mustang, a small SUV dubbed MachE, with the goal of reaching more than 200,000 units a year by 2023.

Tesla Inc remains number one in the category, and on Sunday announced it delivered a total of 936,000 vehicles worldwide in 2021, 87 percent more than in 2020.

General Motors Co is planning to offer 30 models of electric vehicles on the market in 2025, including a Silverado pickup.