Ford Oakville Assembly in Canada to Convert to EVs

Ford Motor (NYSE: F) said today it is investing C$1.8 billion in its Oakville Assembly Complex to make it  into a high-volume hub of electric vehicle manufacturing in Canada. The property, to be renamed Oakville Electric Vehicle Complex, will begin to retool and modernize during Q2of 2024 to prepare for production of next-generation EVs.

This apparently marks the first time a full-line automaker has announced plans to produce “passenger EVs in Canada for the North American market,” claimed Ford. This apparently rules out truck production? Oakville currently builds the Ford Edge and Lincoln Nautilus (autoinformed.com on: Ford Motor Q1 2023 US Sales Up 10%)

Canada and the Oakville complex will play a vital role in our Ford+ transformation. It will be a modern, super-efficient, vertically integrated site for battery and vehicle assembly,” said Jim Farley, Ford president and CEO.

The current 487-acre Oakville site includes three body shops, one paint building, one assembly building. The transformed campus will have a new 407,000 square-foot on-site battery plant that will use cells and arrays from Battery Park in Kentucky. Oakville workers will take these components and assemble battery packs that will then be installed in vehicles assembled on-site. (autoinformed.com on: EVs – Ford to Spend $11.4B Creating a Tennessee Campus, Twin Battery Plants in Kentucky)

“Ford’s investment in retooling its Oakville plant will support thousands of good paying jobs and is an important milestone in our plan to become a leader in the electric vehicle revolution,” said Ontario Premier Doug Ford (No relation to the families of Ford Motor). “Together, with our industry and union partners, we’re building up a world class, home grown electric vehicle supply chain, from mining to manufacturing, so that the vehicles of the future are built right here in Ontario, by Ontario workers.”