When the 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning was revealed months ago, the automaker also noted that the all-electric pickup would be produced at a brand new facility – the Ford Rouge Electric Vehicle Center, located next to the Ford Dearborn Truck Plant, which produces ICE-powered Ford F-150 models. It also pointed out that the F-150 Lightning plant was going to use cutting-edge tech, and that much is evident from an inside look recently provided by Michael Martinez from Automotive News.
Martinez pointed out, via Twitter, that the F-150 Lightning Plant doesn’t use traditional, fixed assembly lines, but rather, automated robots which carry parts and pickups from station to station. This is something Ford mentioned when it first announced that it was constructing the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center, but it’s still quite interesting to see it all in practice.
As Ford Authority reported last week, Ford F-150 Lightning pre-production is officially underway at the new plant. To date, Ford has secured over 150,000 reservations for the first-ever all-electric F-150, which prompted the automaker to double its production target to 80,000 units per year, as well as invest an additional $250 million to add 450 more jobs at the Rouge EV plant, Van Dyke Electric Powertrain Center – which builds electric motors and electric transaxles, and the Rawsonville Components Plant – where batteries are assembled.
What makes this plant unique for @Ford is that there are no fixed assembly lines — parts are carried from one spot to the next by these yellow automated robots pic.twitter.com/iaHoIRS9GL
— Michael Martinez (@MikeMartinez_AN) September 16, 2021
Ford has invested heavily in artificial intelligence at its production facilities in recent years, which has vastly improved productivity. However, as Ford Authority exclusively reported last year, FoMoCo believes that robots will never completely take over this process and that humans will always be needed to assemble vehicles.
We’ll have more on the F-150 Lightning soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for the latest Ford F-Series news, Ford F-150 news, F-150 Lightning news, and continuous Ford news coverage.
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