Ford Motor Co. in Dearborn is investing C$1.8 billion in its Oakville Assembly Complex in Ontario to transform it into a high-volume hub of electric vehicle manufacturing.
The campus, to be renamed Oakville Electric Vehicle Complex, will begin to retool and modernize in the second quarter of 2024 to prepare for production of next-generation EVs. This marks the first time a full-line automaker has announced plans to produce passenger EVs in Canada for the North American market.
The investment allows Ford to repurpose and transform existing buildings into a state-of-the-art facility that leverages Ford of Canada’s skilled and experienced workforce.
Ford says it’s taking a diverse strategic approach to transforming its industrial system to expand EV production: building new greenfield sites and also transforming existing manufacturing sites like in Oakville and Cologne, Germany.
“Ford of Canada has been a leader in the country’s auto industry since it was founded 119 years ago, driven by hard-working, dedicated employees,” says Bev Goodman, president and CEO of Ford of Canada. “As the top-selling auto brand in Canada for 14 straight years, the successful transition to EV production in Oakville will help deliver stable Canadian employment with the opportunity to build the new skills and expertise to drive Ford and the industry forward.”
The current 487-acre Oakville site includes three body shops, one paint building, and one assembly building. The transformed 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.
“Ford’s investment to transform its Oakville facility to manufacture passenger electric vehicles will strengthen our end-to-end EV supply chain and help ensure that the vehicles of the future are built here in Ontario,” says Vic Fedeli, Ontario’s minister of economic development, job creation, and trade. “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.”
