Ford is doubling down on its commitment to electric vehicles (EVs) with a $1.3 billion investment to convert its Oakville Assembly Plant in Ontario into the Oakville Electric Vehicle Complex. This transformation is part of Ford’s larger $50 billion commitment to electrification by 2026 and is set to be the company’s first high-volume conversion of an existing plant in North America to make EVs.
The Oakville facility is expected to have the capacity to produce 300,000 EVs per year and will also assemble battery packs using cells and arrays from Kentucky’s BlueOvalSK Battery Park. The conversion process is expected to take six months and begin in the second quarter of 2024, with production for delivery starting in 2025.
The investment is expected to create over 3,000 Canadian jobs, with temporarily laid-off employees returning before the end of next year. The transformation of the Oakville plant into an EV production site is in line with Ford’s commitment to increase its production of electric vehicles and have the capacity to produce 2 million EVs globally by 2026.
While Ford has not yet revealed which vehicles will replace the gas-powered Ford Edge and Lincoln Nautilus midsize SUVs, the new vehicles will be built on Ford’s next-generation EV platform. The Canadian investment is part of Ford’s plan to electrify its product line and invest in the transition to a low-carbon economy, supported by incentives from the Canadian federal and Ontario’s provincial governments.
Ford’s investment in the Oakville Electric Vehicle Complex marks a significant step towards its electrification goals, highlighting the company’s efforts to shift towards sustainable practices and meet the growing demand for EVs. As the automotive industry continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how other major players respond to Ford’s bold move towards a more sustainable future.
