Ford Motor Company has announced a massive CAD 1.8 billion (AUD 2 billion) investment to transform the Oakville Assembly Complex in Canada into an electric vehicle manufacturing hub that will feature vehicle and battery pack assembly.
The transformation of the site is key to the company’s plan to reach a global production rate of 2 million EVs annually by the end of 2026, making them more accessible to millions of customers globally.
The campus will be renamed Oakville Electric Vehicle Complex and is expected to begin operations in the second quarter of 2024.
The investment marks the first time the automobile manufacturing giant announced plans to produce passenger EVs in Canada for the North American market.
It will also allow the repurposing and transformation of existing buildings into a state-of-the-art facility that will tap into Ford of Canada’s skilled and experienced workforce.
The existing facility in Oakville is a 487-acre Oakville site that includes three body shops, a paint building, and an assembly facility.
The new campus is expected to feature a new 407,000 sq ft on-site battery plant that will use cells and arrays from BlueOval SK Battery Park in Kentucky.
“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,” said Jim Farley, CEO and president of Ford.
The massive investment in Oakville comes as Ford takes a diverse strategic approach to transform its industrial system to expand EV production, which includes building new greenfield sites and transforming existing manufacturing sites like the one in Cologne Germany.
“Ford’s transformation from gas to electric vehicles is well underway. Once complete, the Oakville Electric Vehicle Complex will secure thousands of well-paying jobs for our hard-working Canadian autoworkers and boost the competitiveness of Canada’s auto sector. The partnership between Ford and Canada helps to position us as a global leader in the EV supply chain for decades to come,” said Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development of Canada.
