Ford to Upgrade Ontario Complex to Build Next-Gen Electric Vehicles From 2024

Ford Motor Company is investing C$1.8 billion in its Oakville Assembly Complex in Ontario, Canada, to transform it into a high-volume hub of electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing. The campus, to be renamed Oakville Electric Vehicle Complex, will begin to retool and modernise 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 transformed campus will feature a new 407,000 square-foot on-site battery plant that will utilise 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.

Jim Farley, Ford president and CEO, says: "Canada and the Oakville complex will play a vital role in our Ford+ transformation. It will be a modern, super-efficient, vertically integrated site for battery and vehicle assembly. I’m most excited for the world to see the incredible next-generation electric and fully digitally connected vehicles produced in Oakville.”

Bev Goodman, president and CEO, Ford of Canada, adds: “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. 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.”

Ford has already announced plans to create an all-new EV manufacturing ecosystem in West Tennessee – called BlueOval City. It will be  the home of a battery plant and the future home of Ford’s next-generation EV pickup.