Ford Is Building Pickup Trucks in the Factory That Should Have Made Electric Cars

FoMoCo was originally planning to convert the facility into an EV production center. However, the change in EV demand made the company's head honchos change their minds.

Now, Ford will invest approximately $3 billion to expand Super Duty production. The investment also targets the automaker's Oakville Assembly Complex in Ontario, Canada. The remaining amount will be steered to supporting facilities in the US and Canada.

Ford had previously announced plans to invest $1.3 billion in the Canadian plant, but the investment was targeted at EV production. The carmaker was planning to build a new three-row SUV there, but the model has recently been postponed from 2025 until 2027.

The company's executives must have realized along the way that large vehicles with a full electric powertrain were "never going to make money," as Farley said. At least, not for the moment.

The carmaker has been burning cash on EVs. It lost nearly $4.7 billion on its EV business last year and projected it would end up losing up to $5.5 billion in 2024.

However, Ford confirms its commitment to electrification, but the process will be delayed until at least the next generation of Super Duty trucks if they will be profitable.

Ford's Super Duty trucks are currently rolling off the production line of the Ohio and Kentucky plants. The company's CEO, Jim Farley, calls them a vital tool for businesses and people. The demand is so high that, even if the two production centers run flat out, Ford can't keep up.

The Canadian plant should start operating in 2026 and have an annual capacity of approximately 100,000 units. The new Super Duty production should provide approximately 1,800 jobs at the Oakville Assembly Complex, as reported by Reuters, which is 400 more than originally planned for the production of the three-row electric SUV.

Ford introduced the Ford+ plan in May 2021, during the company's first investor day under Jim Farley. The strategy focused on EVs.

However, over the years, with a global pandemic, a chip shortage, a financial crisis that is continuously threatening, and the slow charging network development, the car industry made a 180-degree turn and plans have changed along the way.

Earlier this year, Ford decided to remove a shift from the production of the F-150 Lightning and add a shift in the production of the ICE-powered Ford Bronco. FoMoCo also plans to quadruple the production of hybrid vehicles over the next few years in an attempt to use customers who are not ready to drive EVs to the idea of electrification.