Ford plans to build large Super Duty trucks at an Ontario production plant it had originally intended to use for electric vehicles.
The automaker’s Oakville assembly complex was set to be converted into an all-electric vehicle plant but now Ford says it will be investing $2.3 billion into Super Duty truck production instead.
The remaining money will be distributed to other Canadian plants.
“I’m thrilled by @FordCanada’s decision to expand production of its F-Series Super Duty pickups to Ontario with a $2.3 billion investment that will create and secure nearly 2,000 jobs in Oakville and Windsor!” wrote Ontario Premier Doug Ford in a post to X.
Ford currently produces its Super Duty trucks, which are primarily used by commercial and business customers, at plants in Ohio and Kentucky. Its newly announced Canadian plant is expected to be up and running by 2026 and is projected to produce 100,000 units per year.
“Super Duty is a vital tool for businesses and people around the world and, even with our Kentucky Truck Plant and Ohio Assembly Plant running flat out, we can’t meet the demand,” said Ford CEO Jim Farley in a release. “This move benefits our customers and supercharges our Ford Pro commercial business.”
Ford had previously said it was going to invest $1.3 billion into the Oakville plant for EV production but those plans have now been delayed until 2027.
News of the delay comes after taxpayers committed $590 million to Ford in the form of a subsidy partnership between the federal and provincial governments.
Despite the mass subsidies, consumers aren’t biting, with more Canadians abandoning the idea of ever owning an electric vehicle.
A recent study found that over half of Canadians said that they were “very unlikely” to consider an EV for their next vehicle purchase.
On the other hand, only 28.5% of potential buyers said they were willing to go electric, down from 34% two years ago.
Farley said in an interview last week that full “big, huge, enormous” vehicles like Ford’s Super Duty trucks were “never going to make money” as EVs because of the manufacturing costs involved.
“They’re never going to make money. The battery is $50,000,” said Farley. “The batteries will never be affordable.”
“Boosting Super Duty assembly will initially secure approximately 1,800 Canadian jobs at Oakville Assembly Complex, 400 more than would initially have been needed to produce the three-row electric vehicle. Unifor-represented employees at Oakville Assembly Complex will return to work in 2026, a full year earlier than previously planned,” said Ford in a press release.
“The increased production also adds approximately 150 jobs at Windsor Engine Complex, which will manufacture more V8 engines for Super Duty.”
Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development Victor Fedeli said that the “Ontario government was thrilled” with the “great news.”