Ford's electric vehicle plans change again

Ford recently announced its decision to expand production of Super Duty trucks at a factory located in Canada. This plant was earmarked for an investment of $1.340 billion to become an assembly center for the company's next generation of electric vehicles.

The American car manufacturer has announced that starting in 2026 it will begin production of F-series Super Duty trucks at its assembly plant located in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. This action will increase production capacity by approximately 100,000 units annually. As a result of this decision, plans to manufacture a three-row electric vehicle in Oakville, which was scheduled to begin assembly in 2027, will be postponed.

Ford's plans for heavy truck production extend beyond the Oakville plant expansion. The company has announced a total investment of approximately $3 billion to increase production of the Super Duty line at three plants located in North America. At the 71-year-old Oakville assembly complex, approximately $2.3 billion will be allocated to implement integrated assembly and stamping operations. This project will include the manufacture of a "multi-energy" platform for the first time, which will imply the future availability of an electrified version of the Super Duty model. Although Ford has not specified a timeline for this implementation.

Ford has expansion plans for its facilities in Kentucky and Ohio, which includes expanding the truck plant. The company has announced that production of the Super Duty will generate 1.800 new jobs in Canada, specifically at the Oakville assembly complex. This figure exceeds by 400 jobs those initially planned for the manufacture of the three-row electric vehicle.

In April 2023, Ford unveiled a game-changing strategy by announcing its $1.340 billion investment plans to convert the Oakville facility in Canada into an assembly plant for its next generation of electric vehicles. The complex, opened in 1953, would be renamed the Oakville Electric Vehicle Complex and would undergo extensive modernization and expansion in the second quarter of 2024. This would be the first case in which Ford would carry out a complete renovation of an existing plant for the production of electric vehicles in North America.

Ford's strategic change involves a significant investment in the Super Duty, the largest truck in its range, preferred by business customers. This turnaround also highlights the relevance of the profits generated by the main line of F-Series trucks for Ford.

The decision comes just weeks after CEO Jim Farley told an audience at the Aspen Ideas Festival the importance of American society will renew its interest in smaller vehicles.

In an interview, Farley expressed his appreciation for off-road vehicles, noting that the main drawback lies in their weight.

Farley's comments, which focused primarily on finding ways to develop smaller electric vehicles that do away with large, heavy batteries, They were praised at the time.

Ford continues to promote electrification, specifically expanding hybrid alternatives, and is developing an advanced electric vehicle in collaboration with a confidential California-based team that previously kept a low profile. However, the viability of these plans is also in doubt.

In an interview in June of this year, Farley reported that the company was in the process of deliberating the next actions to take with the EV skunk works team, which was in charge of developing a next-generation electric vehicle.

It was also mentioned in said interview that excellent work has been done with the platform. The need to make difficult decisions was highlighted and the existence of various options to consider was pointed out.

At that time, Farley expressed that he could not yet disclose the result, highlighting that the work carried out was excellent and that the approach differed markedly from the company's first generation of products and what is expected in the second generation of its competitors. He mentioned that the fitness test would be the Tesla Model Two, as well as Chinese manufacturers BYD.