Ford to restart F-150 Lightning production on March 13

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co said Thursday it will restart production of its F-150 Lightning on March 13 after it halted output of the electric truck after a battery fire in early February.

Ford has not set a date for resuming deliveries. The U.S. automaker said as it "ramps up production, we will continue holding already-produced vehicles while we work through engineering and parts updates."

Ford said the production restart date allows time for SK On, the automotive battery unit of SK Innovation , battery cells to be built into battery arrays and packs delivered to the Lightning production line. Ford said an EV truck caught fire Feb. 4 during a pre-delivery quality inspection in a company holding lot in Dearborn, Michigan and spread to two other trucks. The automaker halted production the next day.

Ford said "in the weeks ahead, we will continue to apply our learnings and work with SK On’s team to ensure we continue delivering high-quality battery packs – down to the battery cells."

Ford previously has said it was targeting annual production of 150,000 Lightning electric pickups by the fall of 2023.

Ford shares were down 0.3% to $12.28 in midday trading.

(Reporting by David Shepardson)