Ford Expands F-Series Truck Production Amid Slowing Demand for Electric Vehicles

Ford Motor Company today revealed plans to increase production of one of its most well-liked and lucrative vehicles by assembling F-Series Super Duty pickups at its Oakville Assembly Complex in Ontario, Canada, beginning in 2026.

Ford intends to spend almost $3 billion to increase the manufacturing of Super Duty vehicles, of which $2.3 billion will be used to set up integrated stamping and assembly operations at Oakville Assembly Complex. The Oakville Assembly Complex will be a completely adaptable plant once it is finished.

At Oakville Assembly Complex, increasing Super Duty assembly will initially create 1,800 employment in Canada, 400 more than would have been required to construct the three-row electric car. At Oakville Assembly Complex, Unifor-represented workers will resume work in 2026—a full year ahead of schedule.

“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. This move benefits our customers and supercharges our Ford Pro commercial business,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said in a statement. “At the same time, we look forward to introducing three-row electric utility vehicles, leveraging our experience in three-row utility vehicles and our learnings as America’s No. 2 electric vehicle brand to deliver fantastic, profitable vehicles.”

Nearly half of Ford's worldwide sales were to be electric by 2030, according to the company's original strategy, which was supported by more than $30 billion in EV investments made through 2025. The amount of money the corporation has invested in EVs thus far is unknown. Its plans have undergone multiple revisions, and in 2023, its "Model e" EV unit lost $4.7 billion.

Ford has earlier declared that it would put $1.3 billion into the Canadian plant to produce electric vehicles. A new three-row SUV was part of those ambitions, but the business recently postponed it until 2027.

The action, according to the firm, is in line with Farley's Ford+ growth blueprint, which calls for maximizing Ford's manufacturing presence. It's the most recent retreat for the EV-related reorganization plan, but the carmaker insisted that it still intends to start producing the three-row EV in 2027 at an undisclosed factory.

Ford's commercial division, which includes its Super Duty trucks, made $7.2 billion before interest and taxes in 2023, compared to billions of millions lost by its electric vehicle division.

Despite EV sales in the United States rising 72% and hybrid sales up 50% year over year in the first half of 2024, Ford expects to lose at least $5 billion on its Model e EV division this year. The corporation has previously revealed that it will be cutting $12 billion in planned EV investments and delaying the manufacture of its three-row electric SUV.

The work being done by a tiny "skunkworks" team in California to develop an all-electric platform that can enable profitable but reasonably priced electric vehicles (EVs) with a starting price of $25,000 to $30,000 has been highlighted by Ford executives.