Ford halts F-150 EV production for another week after battery fire

Feb 24 (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co (F.N) will halt production of its electric F-150 Lightning pickup for another week following a battery issue that caused an EV truck to catch fire earlier this month, the U.S. automaker said on Friday.

Shares of the company were down about 2%, while rival General Motors Co also fell 1.5% in morning trade.

The development comes days after The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it is holding talks with Ford over the issue.

SK On, a South Korean EV battery maker and supplier to Ford, has again started building battery cells at a plant in Georgia.

"It will take SK time to ensure they are back to building high-quality cells and to deliver them to the Lightning production line," Ford said in a statement.

"We agree with SK On's recommended changes in their equipment and processes for SK's cell production lines."

Last week, the automaker said it will continue to hold already-produced vehicles while it worked through engineering and process updates.

The fire incident involving Ford's EV truck happened on Feb. 4, during a pre-delivery quality inspection at its Dearborn, Michigan plant, causing the company to halt production the next day.

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