American manufacturer Ford announced Thursday an investment of three billion dollars in Canada, including 2.3 billion to install an additional assembly line for the F-Series Super Duty pickup truck because the two existing plants are “operating at full capacity.”
The Oakville site was to be converted to produce new electric SUV models, which were to hit the market in 2025.
But the manufacturer announced at the beginning of April that it was postponing this launch by two years, arguing that it wanted to take advantage of the latest advances in batteries.
According to a press release from the manufacturer, the Oakville (Ontario, Canada) complex will be set up to begin producing these vehicles, which are widely used in the industry, in 2026, with a maximum capacity of 100,000 pick-ups per year.
“The Super Duty is a fundamental tool for businesses and people around the world, and even with the Kentucky Truck Plant (KTP) and Ohio Assembly Plant operating at full capacity, we can’t keep up with demand,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said in the statement.
He is referring to the two sites, located in the United States, which have already manufactured more than 200,000 units of this “very popular and very profitable” model for professionals in the first half of 2024.
The F-Series has been the best-selling pickup family in the United States for 47 years and in Canada for 58 years.
No details were provided Thursday about the electric vehicle conversion project.
But Mr. Farley assured Ford of its commitment to electric vehicles, saying that large electric-powered utility pickups would also eventually be produced at the site.
Oakville is expected to employ about 1,800 people — 400 more than with the initial electric conversion project — but Ford’s investment will also involve several other plants that will supply it, with hiring and overtime in particular.
In total, ten of the manufacturer’s factories in the United States — employing 20,000 people — will supply the one in Oakville.
Ford says production of its pickups directly or indirectly supports more than 500,000 jobs in the United States.