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Ford Motor Company is making a big push into the electric vehicle market by investing C$1.8 billion in its Oakville Assembly Complex in Canada. The investment will see the plant transformed into a high-volume hub of electric vehicle manufacturing, marking the first time a full-line automaker has announced plans to produce passenger EVs in Canada […]
Ford Motor Company is making a big push into the electric vehicle market by investing C$1.8 billion in its Oakville Assembly Complex in Canada. The investment will see the plant transformed into a high-volume hub of electric vehicle manufacturing, marking the first time a full-line automaker has announced plans to produce passenger EVs in Canada for the North American market.
The Oakville site, to be renamed the Oakville Electric Vehicle Complex, will begin to retool and modernize in the second quarter of 2024 to prepare for production of next-generation EVs. Ford’s investment will allow the company to repurpose and transform existing buildings into a state-of-the-art facility that leverages Ford of Canada’s skilled and experienced workforce.
The campus will feature a new 407,000 square-foot on-site battery plant that will utilize cells and arrays from BlueOval SK Battery Park in Kentucky. Oakville workers will take these components and assemble battery packs that will then be installed in vehicles assembled on-site. The investment enables Ford to transform its industrial system to expand EV production, building new greenfield sites and transforming existing manufacturing sites like in Oakville and Cologne, Germany.
The transformation of the Oakville plant is a significant milestone in Ford’s plan to scale production of electric vehicles and make them more accessible to millions of customers. Jim Farley, Ford president and CEO, said, “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. I’m most excited for the world to see the incredible next-generation electric and fully digitally connected vehicles produced in Oakville.”
The current 487-acre Oakville site includes three body shops, one paint building, one assembly building. The transformed campus will secure thousands of well-paying jobs for Canadian autoworkers and boost the competitiveness of Canada’s auto sector.
François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development of Canada, said, “The partnership between Ford and Canada helps to position us as a global leader in the EV supply chain for decades to come.”
Ford has also announced several other EV manufacturing initiatives, including the creation of an all-new EV manufacturing ecosystem in West Tennessee, called BlueOval City, which will create 11,000 new US jobs and expected to begin production in 2025. Through a wholly owned subsidiary, Ford is building a lithium iron phosphate battery plant in Marshall, Mich., and is modernizing its vehicle assembly campus in Cologne, Germany, to become the Ford Cologne Electrification Center.
In addition, Ford has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with LG Energy Solution and Koç Holding to build one of the largest commercial EV battery cell production facilities in the European region. The project is on track to break ground near Ankara, Turkey, later this year, with production to start in 2026.
Ford’s investment to transform its Oakville facility to manufacture passenger EVs will strengthen the end-to-end EV supply chain in Canada and help ensure that the vehicles of the future are built there. Vic Fedeli, Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, said, “With our plan to build a strong Ontario, we continue to create the right conditions for businesses and workers to succeed now and for generations to come.”
Ford’s investment of C$1.8 billion in the Oakville Assembly Complex will transform it into a high-volume hub of electric vehicle manufacturing in Canada, and marks the first time a full-line automaker has announced plans to produce passenger EVs in Canada for the North American market. This investment will allow Ford to repurpose and transform existing buildings into a state-of-the-art facility that leverages Ford of Canada’s skilled and experienced workforce. Furthermore, this investment will create thousands of well-paying jobs and help boost the competitiveness of Canada’s auto sector.
