Ford Motor Company on April 4 announced it is pushing back retooling its assembly plant in Ontario, Canada, for EV production, but its projects to build a new plant in Tennessee and add on to an existing facility in Ohio, both for EV production, are still on track.
At the same time, Ford is also expanding its hybrid vehicle offerings, on track to offer hybrid powertrains across its entire light-duty lineup by the end of the decade. In the first quarter of 2024, Ford’s EV sales increased by 86% and hybrid sales rose 42% versus a year ago.
“As the No. 2 EV brand in the U.S. for the past two years, we are committed to scaling a profitable EV business, using capital wisely and bringing to market the right gas, hybrid and fully electric vehicles at the right time,” said Jim Farley, Ford president and CEO. “Our breakthrough, next-generation EVs will be new from the ground up and fully software enabled, with ever-improving digital experiences and a multitude of potential services.”
Assembly Plant in Oakville, Ontario, Canada
While the transformation of Oakville Assembly Plant from a gas vehicle assembly plant into an EV manufacturing complex will begin in the second quarter of this year, as planned, production of three-row EVs is being pushed back from 2025 to 2027.
Ford said the additional time will allow for the market for three-row EVs to further develop, and enable Ford to take advantage of emerging battery technology, with the goal to provide customers increased durability and better value.
The company will work with Unifor to mitigate the impact the launch delay will have on its workforce at Oakville.
BlueOval City
The creation of the BlueOval City campus -- Ford’s new production complex that includes the Tennessee Electric Vehicle Center assembly plant -- is progressing as scheduled, Ford said. In addition to paint shop and vehicle assembly equipment, installation is also underway for nearly 4,000 tons of stamping equipment that will produce the sheet metal stampings for Ford’s next electric truck, expected to begin deliveries in 2026.
Ohio Assembly Plant
Ford is also expanding its Ohio Assembly Plant in Avon Lake to produce an electric commercial vehicle beginning mid-decade.
Half of the structural steel is erected on the site, interior slabs are being poured, concrete walls are going up and masonry is beginning on interior walls. Ford expects to begin tool installation at Ohio Assembly Plant in spring 2025.
Future EVs
Design work continues on Ford’s future-generation EVs. A skunkworks team in California is developing a smaller, low-cost, profitable, flexible EV platform capable of underpinning multiple vehicles at high volumes.
In the meantime, construction is progressing at BlueOval Battery Park Michigan, in Marshall, MI, and at the BlueOval SK joint venture battery plants in Tennessee and Kentucky.
