Ford is investing $1.8 billion in its Oakville Assembly Complex in Ontario so it can turn the site into a new high-volume Canadian hub of electric vehicle manufacturing, according to an OEM news release.
The transformation, which will include vehicle and battery pack assembly, is key to the OEM’s plan to boost its global production of EVs to 2 million annually by the end of 2026.
“Canada and the Oakville complex will play a vital role in our Ford+ transformation,” said Ford President and CEO Jim Farley in a statement. “It will be a modern, super-efficient, vertically integrated site for battery and vehicle assembly.”
Ford’s 487-acre Oakville site currently includes three body shops, one paint building, and an assembly building, but there are plans for a new 407,000 square-foot on-site battery plant for cells and arrays from the BlueOval SK Battery Park in Kentucky.
The site will be renamed the Oakville Electric Vehicle Complex, and its massive transformation — from retooling to modernization — will begin next year, during the second quarter of 2024. Ford said the move marks the first time a “full-line automaker” announced that it would manufacture passenger EVs in Canada for the North American market.
“Ford’s commitment to invest in OAC retooling and upskilling signals a bright future for Canadian EV production and for Canadian auto sector employment,” said Lana Payne, Unifor National President, in a statement. “The transformation of the Oakville plant is an important step towards a stronger industry and testament to the hard work, skills, and dedication of our Unifor Oakville Assembly Complex members.”
