F-Series (Ford)

On March 17, IRU, the world road transport organization, announced that IRU and members have joined the H2Accelerate TRUCKS project to advance the decarbonization of long-haul trucks across the European Union. H2Accelerate TRUCKS, which consists of hydrogen producers, infrastructure operators, and vehicle manufacturers, will test 150 hydrogen heavy-duty vehicles on the main north-south corridors connecting Scandinavia to Italy.
IRU hosted the kick-off meeting of H2Accelerate TRUCKS, which is a key EU-funded project for the deployment of hydrogen trucks spearheaded by the H2Accelerate partnership, in Brussels. The H2Accelerate partnership has also secured funding for the deployment of eight heavy-duty hydrogen refueling stations through the EU funding instrument “Connecting Europe Facility”.
This project will fund the deployment of 150 fuel cell trucks across Europe by the mid-to-late 2020s, allowing the development of the technology towards series manufacturing of the vehicles by the three major OEMs (Daimler Truck, Volvo Group, and Iveco Group) in the second half of the decade. 
The trucks to be deployed in the first stage are expected to be either 4×2 or 6×2, with up to 44-ton capacity and long ranges of at least 600km. The funding granted by the Clean Hydrogen Partnership of EUR 30M will enable the coordinated roll-out of heavy-duty, zero-emission vehicles fueled by green hydrogen.

Based on press release from IRU/ H2Accelerate

Ford has recalled 18 of its 2023 F-150 Lightning vehicles as a result of a February battery fire that shut down production for five weeks at its Rouge Electric Vehicle Center, until it restarted on March 13.
While neither Ford, nor its battery supplier SK Battery America, said what the defect was that caused the fire, a U.S. National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) document reveals the details.
On March 15, NHTSA said of the F-150 Lightning “When the vehicle’s high voltage battery is at a high state of charge, the vehicle could experience an internal short circuit in the battery which could result in a fire”.
NHTSA’s description of the cause “Due to production process deviations at the supplier, the cathode aluminum tabs may contact the anode electrode material causing an internal short circuit when the high voltage battery cells are at a high state of charge.”
NHTSA further warned: “There may be smoke or heat in the high voltage battery pack which could melt or damage the battery pack and other vehicle components.”
After the root cause was determined, SK summarily rectified the problem on its own production line in Commerce, Georgia, and new battery packs have been supplied to Ford.

(U.S. NHTSA document released on March 15, 2023)

On March 17, Ford announced in documents posted on the U.S. National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) site it is recalling more than 1.5 million vehicles in the U.S. in two separate actions to fix leaky brake hoses and windshield wiper arms that can break. Two largest recalls are as follows;
   • 1,280,726 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKX midsize cars MY 2013-2018
Ford says that the front brake hoses can rupture and leak brake fluid, increasing brake pedal travel and make stopping distances longer.
Ford will mail owner notification letters starting April 17 and dealers will replace the hoses.
   • 222,454 F-150 pickup trucks MY 2021
Ford warns that the windshield wiper arms can break.
Owners will be notified starting March 27, and dealers will replace the arms if needed.

(Detroit Free Press on March 17, 2023) (NHTSA recall for brake hoses) (NHTSA recall for wiper arms)