\n<\/p>\n
Ford issued a recall notice for 18 F-150 Lightning pickup trucks with defective battery cells, which caused at least one truck to catch fire. The automaker will restart production of the electric truck on Monday, March 13th, with a \u201cclean stock\u201d of battery packs, after a four-week pause of production and shipment<\/a> to investigate the cause of the defect. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Ford said the \u201croot cause\u201d of the issue was at South Korean battery supplier SK On\u2019s factory in Georgia. In a statement, spokesperson Emma Bergg said that the company was not aware of any reports of accident or injury related to this recall.\u202f<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cTogether with SK On, we have confirmed the root causes and have implemented quality actions,\u201d Bergg said. \u201cProduction is on track to resume Monday with clean stock of battery packs.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cTogether with SK On, we have confirmed the root causes and have implemented quality actions.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The affected vehicles are either on dealer lots or in customer hands, Bergg confirmed. The automaker has been in close contact with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is expected to publish the recall notice next week. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Battery fires, while rare, remain a serious concern for EV makers. More data is needed, but researchers have determined that the vast majority of EVs are at low risk for battery fires. Though, when fires do occur, EVs with lithium-ion batteries burn hotter, faster, and require more water to extinguish \u2014 a fact that has led some towns to retrain their emergency responders for when such incidents occur.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The most serious incident involved the Chevy Bolt, which was recalled after GM reported at least 19 battery fires due to defective cells from the supplier LG. The automaker was forced to\u00a0temporarily shut down production<\/a>\u00a0after a software fix failed to prevent several more fires. Chevy\u00a0resumed production<\/a>\u00a0last year after installing new battery packs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n