Ford issues recall notice for 18 F-150 pickup trucks after fire

NEW DELHI: Ford Motor has issued a recall notice for 18 electric F-150 Lightning pickup trucks with faulty battery cells that caused at least one truck to catch fire.

Automakers will resume production of electric trucks from March 13, with a "clean stock" of battery packs, after a four-week pause to investigate the defect, reports The Verge.

On February 4, a fire broke out in a holding lot during a pre-delivery quality check while the vehicle was charging. Ford halted production and issued a stop-shipment order to dealers.

According to Ford, the "root cause" of the problem was at the Georgia plant of South Korean battery supplier SK On.

The company's spokesperson Emma Bergg stated that the firm was not aware of any reports of accidents or injuries related to this recall, the report said.

"Together with SK On, we have confirmed the root causes and have implemented quality actions. Production is on track to resume Monday with a clean stock of battery packs," Bergg was quoted as saying.

Moreover, he confirmed that the affected vehicles are either on dealer lots or in the customer's hands.

The company has been in close communication with the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which is expected to issue the recall notice next week, the report mentioned.

Last year, Ford recalled more than 1 lakh vehicles, including Maverick, Escape and Corsair models, that face fire risk.

The recall affected vehicles in the US all of which came with a 2.5-litre hybrid/plug-in hybrid (HEV/PHEV) engine, reports CNBC.