Car enthusiasts have been buzzing about the brand new 2021 Ford F-150 since its highly-anticipated reveal launch. Ford’s best-selling pickup, also known as “America’s truck,” hasn’t had a major refresh in over five years. Because of this, we were especially excited to learn more about the F-150’s new hybrid powertrain and updated tech offerings. While these features are exciting, Ford tends to know how to mess things up. Fortunately, Ford says it has learned from its past mistakes. 

How Ford is learning from its past

Most of Ford’s past problem’s have to do with doing too much at once. Remember the carmaker’s drama with the Ford Explorer in 2019? To sum it all up, Ford called its production of the 2019 Explorer a “constipated” situation, which is kind of gross. When it was time to officially launch the 2019 version of this SUV, Ford thought it would be a good idea to rebuild its Chicago Assembly Plant from the ground up, which turned out to be a disaster. 

While Ford’s Chicago plant was being reborn, the car company was also working to produce the 2019 Explorer models. They were also producing new  Lincoln Aviators and new police vehicles at the same time. This plan turned out to be a colossal mistake since this slowed production lines considerably. 

Another huge problem was that earlier built models had to be mysteriously shipped off to Ford’s facilities in Michigan for quality control. Ford’s mishaps resulted in the company’s terrible fourth quarter in 2019. These unfortunate events also caused Ford exec Joe Hinrichs’ abrupt departure as AutoNews reported. All this to say that Ford isn’t playing around with production when it comes to rolling the 2021 F-150.

Ford won’t go rogue with 2021 F-150 production 

After all the 2019 disasters, Ford wouldn’t dare to remodel its facilities in Kansas City, Mo and  Dearborn, Mich, which is where its trucks are assembled. Ford has staggered routine maintenance across its production plants to make sure that operations run as smoothly as possible. 

Ford’s two-plant production system helps the car company with identifying early issues with a new model at one facility before starting production at another. The Dearborn Truck Plant in Michigan will likely begin building the new F-150 models in early September with the Kansas City facility following in mid-October according to AutoNews. If everything goes as planned, we can expect to see the new 2021 F-150s in dealerships this November.

Ford still has a lot going for it

As we mentioned earlier, the F-150 has remained as America’s truck for generations. And although some are already disappointed by the 2021 F-150, it’s still likely to sell very well.  Even amid the coronavirus pandemic, pickup truck sales have remained strong. 

Ford plans on capitalizing on the strong pickup sales by increasing the F-150’s towing capacity and adding new advanced safety features. There will also be a new hands-free driving system offering. But the most remarkable change by far for the F-150 in 2021 is the  3.5-liter hybrid V-6 powertrain.