Ford Invests $250M More for F-150 Lightning Production, Adds 450 Jobs

Ford Motor Co. in Dearborn announced on Thursday it will invest an additional $250 million and add 450 more direct jobs across the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center, Van Dyke Electric Powertrain Center, and Rawsonville Components Plant as the first pre-production F-150 Lightning all-electric trucks roll off the assembly line.
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workers on an assembly line with a pre-production F-150 lightning
Ford announced $250 million in new investments and 450 jobs at three plants as the first F-150 Lightning pre-production models (pictured) roll off the assembly line. // Courtesy of Ford Motor Co.

Ford Motor Co. in Dearborn announced on Thursday it will invest an additional $250 million and add 450 more direct jobs across the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center, Van Dyke Electric Powertrain Center, and Rawsonville Components Plant as the first pre-production F-150 Lightning all-electric trucks roll off the assembly line.

The investment and added jobs will help increase production capacity to 80,000 trucks a year.

“We knew the F-150 Lightning was special, but the interest from the public has surpassed our highest expectations and changed the conversation around electric vehicles. So, we are doubling down, adding jobs and investment to increase production,” says Bill Ford, executive chairman of Ford. “This truck and the Ford-UAW workers who are assembling it in Michigan have a chance to make history and lead the electric vehicle movement in America.”

The F-150 Lightning, with a starting MSRP of $40,000 and targeted EPA-estimated driving range of 300 miles with the extended-range battery, is aimed at the heart of the U.S. auto market. Ford states it has taken more than 150,000 reservations for the trucks to date.

“Electrifying the F-Series — America’s best-selling truck for 44 years — and assembling it at this high-tech facility in Michigan represents a significant step toward mass adoption of electric vehicles in America,” says Kumar Galhotra, Ford’s president of The Americas and International Markets Group. “F-150 Lightning is intended to be more than a no-compromise zero tailpipe-emissions truck. It’s packed with ingenious features and technology that will improve over time, it’s exhilarating to drive, and it can power your home and worksite.”

Ford confirmed construction of the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn a year ago as part of an initial $700 million investment in the historic Ford Rouge Center, creating a manufacturing home for the F-150 Lightning. The trucks will be available to customers next spring.

Ford’s $250 million additional investment will create 450 additional hourly direct jobs, with most of those workers assembling the F-150 Lightning at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center. Workers at Rawsonville Components Plant will assemble the batteries and Van Dyke Electric Powertrain Center will increase its capacity to supply electric motors and electric transaxles for the F-150 Lightning.

This is the latest in Ford’s continuing investment in Michigan. Ford has invested $7.7 billion in the state and created and retained 7,000 Michigan jobs since 2016, including bringing the new Bronco SUV and Ranger pickup production to Michigan, refurbishing Michigan Central Station, developing a new Ford Research and Engineering Campus in Dearborn, creating Ford’s Ion Park in Romulus, and more.

Michigan has been the home of Ford since its founding in 1903 and these sites represent a growing network across southeast Michigan that will support the next generation of Ford’s battery electric, connected, and autonomous vehicles.

The Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in the Ford Rouge Center is a zero waste-to-landfill site.

The center uses natural lighting, as well as LED lighting. In turn, a primary forklift fleet will use hydrogen fuel cells with a zero-emission profile. The Rouge Electric Vehicle Center is built on the site of the old Dearborn Assembly Plant, using its recycled foundation and construction materials.