Extended range battery constraints?

[RonTCat]

For backstory I reserved a Lighting about an hour after the presentation last year and placed my order for a Platinum with my dealer in early January of this year, I am also located in Canada.

Yesterday I received an unexpected call from my dealer, telling me they were informed by Ford that the extended range batteries are now on constraint. I could keep my order and the truck will most likely be delayed about a year, or I could switch my order to a base Lariat with the smaller battery and get the truck in the next few months.

Has anyone else heard this or received a similar call from their dealer?

If ER batteries are a constraint, then SR batteries will be a constraint. Internally they use the same cell arrays, the ER battery just gets one more array than the SR. The dealer statement is questionable.

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[RickLightning]

If ER batteries are a constraint, then SR batteries will be a constraint. Internally they use the same cell arrays, the ER battery just gets one more array than the SR. The dealer statement is questionable.

Not really. Ford orders X SR batteries and Y ER batteries, just like any other components. They try to optimize battery configurations to tie to supply. Did the same on the Mach-E. At one point, ER Mach-Es were delayed, while SR Mach-Es were not, due to available battery configurations.

 

[RonTCat]

Not really. Ford orders X SR batteries and Y ER batteries, just like any other components. They try to optimize battery configurations to tie to supply. Did the same on the Mach-E. At one point, ER Mach-Es were delayed, while SR Mach-Es were not, due to available battery configurations.

Ford orders X cell arrays, then builds them into batteries.

 

[Mike G]

Ummm...I'm trying to reconcile this with this thread where reservation order holders were contacted and told that there were slots open to order 6 Lariat ERs and 2 Lariat SRs and were there any takers...?

WTH over?

And OP is being told that ER battery packs are constrained? What?

Mike

 

[TaxmanHog]

Ummm...I'm trying to reconcile this with this thread where reservation order holders were contacted and told that there were slots open to order 6 Lariat ERs and 2 Lariat SRs and were there any takers...?

WTH over?

And OP is being told that ER battery packs are constrained? What?

Mike

Agreed, does not compute.....

Listen to Tim Bartz Tuesday webinar again, while he was talking about Lightning and the Wave-7, IIRC he said something about constraints on Plat's the Max Recline seats will have an option to delete, the sales dudes might be calling folks to poke them to remove if they want a build, or sit and wait longer for the trucks

 

[MickeyAO]

Ford orders X cell arrays, then builds them into batteries.

I highly doubt Ford is assembling the traction battery...do you have a video of the factory where they are doing it?

 

[RonTCat]

I highly doubt Ford is assembling the traction battery...do you have a video of the factory where they are doing it?

Rawsonville.

 

[Lavaorange]

What province are you in @TheJackel2013 ?

 

[hturnerfamily]

until Ford builds it's own new battery plant at Blue Oval in Tennessee, in several years, I highly doubt they are 'building' battery packs - they simply receive them from their supplier, SK, just like any other commodity.

 

[TheJackel2013]

So I deleted my post above. I got some more accurate info today on Canadian orders.

My Platinum was ordered at the dealer in January. I got my VIN 2 months ago, and the blend date was 5/11. It was suppose to arrive at the dealer next week, but touched down today in Ontario, Canada a week early (pics later).

To the OP, the order process in Canada is a bit different than the US. Dealers received their 2022 allotment size in January, and most are much less than the equivalent sized US dealer. All dealers are allowed to "prioritize" their entire 2022 allotment to any customer they see fit.

Dealers should have converted their alloted number of orders to Ford Canada in January. They were allowed to sequence them in any order they wanted. The dealers are not bound by reservation date or order.

My Platinum was the first at my dealership. I was told that the next couple of Platinums were cancelled by Ford Canada, and instead changed to Standard Range Lariats, likely because of chip and battery shortage. These other platinums were submitted and accepted by Ford as orders, but had not yet been serialized (assigned a VIN). They were apparently scheduled for blend dates in August. Those customers have the option of taking or rejecting the Lariats, but are not guaranteed their original order specification any time soon. Obviously a horrible turn of events for "confirmed" orders.

To OP, if you have a great relationship with your dealer, they may be in fact telling you the truth. If you don't trust what they say, there's no way to know if they did or did not submit your order to Ford as part of the 2022 allotment back in January. This is especially in light of other threads this past week where dealers are being surprised and given additional Larats beyond what was originally alloted for 2022.

If ER batteries are coming up scarce, Ford may have decided that they can make more money selling 4 Lariat SRs, than 3 Platinums, given the approximate same number of cells in the total battery packs. Given the wait list, they may have also decided that they can make 4 customers happy instead of 3

 

[21PlatPB]

So I deleted my post above. I got some more accurate info today on Canadian orders.

My Platinum was ordered at the dealer in January. I got my VIN 2 months ago, and the blend date was 5/11. It was suppose to arrive at the dealer next week, but touched down today in Ontario, Canada a week early (pics later).

To the OP, the order process in Canada is a bit different than the US. Dealers received their 2022 allotment size in January, and most are much less than the equivalent sized US dealer. All dealers are allowed to "prioritize" their entire 2022 allotment to any customer they see fit.

Dealers should have converted their alloted number of orders to Ford Canada in January. They were allowed to sequence them in any order they wanted. The dealers are not bound by reservation date or order.

My Platinum was the first at my dealership. I was told that the next couple of Platinums were cancelled by Ford Canada, and instead changed to Standard Range Lariats, likely because of chip and battery shortage. These other platinums were submitted and accepted by Ford as orders, but had not yet been serialized (assigned a VIN). They were apparently scheduled for blend dates in August. Those customers have the option of taking or rejecting the Lariats, but are not guarenteed their original order specification any time soon. Obviously a horrible turn of events for "confirmed" orders.

To OP, if you have a great relationship with your dealer, they may be in fact telling you the truth. If you don't trust what they say, there's no way to know if they did or did not submit your order to Ford as part of the 2022 allotment back in January. This is especially in light of other threads this past week where dealers are being surprised and given additional Larats beyond what was originally alloted for 2022.

If ER batteries are coming up scarce, Ford may have decided that they can make more money selling 4 Lariat SRs, than 3 Platinums, given the approxiamte same number of cells in the total battery packs. Given the wait list, they may have also decided that they can make 4 customers happy instead of 3

I have heard similar from a few dealers now. Mine was not yet assigned a VIN but was supposed to be built in August as well. I think there definitely some other Canadians that are going to be disappointed, that just don't know it yet.

I rejected the idea of ordering a Lariat SR and kept my current configuration but will buy something as an in-between vehicle as fuel costs are killing me right now. Honestly, depending on whenever my Platinum does get scheduled I might bail on it if it's close to the launch of the Silverado EV as I have an RST First edition reserved as well.

Congrats on your truck arriving, definitely look forward to seeing your thoughts on it!

 

[Amps]

until Ford builds it's own new battery plant at Blue Oval in Tennessee, in several years, I highly doubt they are 'building' battery packs - they simply receive them from their supplier, SK, just like any other commodity.

Rawsonville assembles battery packs. I don’t know if they are the source or sole source for Lightning, but they definitely assemble battery packs. It’s also listed as a source plant on the original sourcing documents that Ford provided early on In the launch.

Edit: Added first page of Tech Spec pdf that shows Ford plant sourcing for Lightning. REVC-Van Dyke-Rawsonville. I'm looking forward to seeing some content labels from delivered trucks.

View attachment F-150_Lightning_Tech_Specs_p1.pdf

 

[hturnerfamily]

yes, 'assembles', meaning that they add the needed wiring and connectors, etc for the Lightning, but they don't 'build' the battery pack, the actual 'battery' - that's SK. The packs arrive as either ER or SR.

 

[RonTCat]

yes, 'assembles', meaning that they add the needed wiring and connectors, etc for the Lightning, but they don't 'build' the battery pack, the actual 'battery' - that's SK. The packs arrive as either ER or SR.

SK only provides cells. Ford builds the battery. More cells, ER. Less cells, SR.

 

[metroshot]

Agreed, does not compute.....

Listen to Tim Bartz Tuesday webinar again, while he was talking about Lightning and the Wave-7, IIRC he said something about constraints on Plat's the Max Recline seats will have an option to delete, the sales dudes might be calling folks to poke them to remove if they want a build, or sit and wait longer for the trucks

Agree - if Ford is sending out wave 7 leftover invites for only the Lariat trim - some SR, others ER tells me they have more parts to build 2022 Lariats.

Batteries seem to not be an issue....

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