The Oakville, Ont. plan was supposed to start making three-row EVs in 2027, but will start truck production in 2026
- Ford will make Super Duty trucks at its Oakville, Ont. plant, instead of the electric SUVs it originally planned
- The Canadian plant will be one of three in North America making the popular and profitable model
- Oakville will also be the first to make Super Duty trucks with some form of electrification when the next-gen comes out
The automaker said the decision is due to the success of its Ford Pro program, which targets fleet customers, and that the Super Duty is one of its “most popular and profitable vehicles.” That said, it looks like there’s a possibility EVs may still be in the pipeline at the plant, although they’re definitely not a priority anymore.
The automaker plans to invest some US$3 billion to expand production of the Super Duty, with US$2.3 billion earmarked for assembly and integrated stamping at Oakville, which will become a fully flexible plant. Bringing the truck in will initially require 1,800 employees, which Ford said is 400 more than it would need to start production of the three-row EV. Unifor-represented workers will start in 2026, a year earlier than planned.
The new truck production will also give a boost to Ford’s engine plant in Windsor, Ont., adding about 150 jobs to make extra V8 engines. The expansion overall will also add new employees and overtime to three plants in the U.S. that make transmissions, axles, and other components for the trucks.
In the first six months of 2024, the plants in Kentucky and Ohio made more than 200,000 Super Duty trucks, and Ford says demand is higher than what it can make right now.
In a statement, Unifor said that it welcomes the announcement and said Ford will begin installing tooling and equipment for Super Duty production and the stamping facility this summer. It added that later in the decade, Oakville will begin building the next-generation model, including an “electrified version,” and that the Canadian plant will be the “sole initial source of multi-energy Super Duty production.” The union added that the truck production “will replace previous production plans to build (EVs) in Oakville.”
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