Ford's plan to spend $1.8 billion to build electric vehicles at a plant near Toronto is now complete. Except that instead of $1.8 billion, the costs have spiraled to $5 billion. And the EV the plant was going to build is now gas and diesel-powered Super Duty pickups. Still, it's good news for Ford and for customers. Tariffs be damned. Plant Has Taken A Long Route To Pickups Ford In 2020, Ford was still all-in on electric. The automaker announced that it would switch its plant in Oakville, Ontario, Canada, from building the Ford Edge and Lincoln Nautilus to building the then-planned new Explorer and Aviator EVs.Instead, Ford announced in 2024 that it wasn't going to build anything in Oakville in 2025. The Edge was dead, the Nautilus moved to China, and the two new EVs were not going to happen. The workers and suppliers of Oakville were told not to worry because Ford was going to spend even more money to build Super Duty trucks and a new stamping plant.Ford Canada confirmed to CarBuzz that assembly of pre-production pickup trucks has begun. It's one of the last steps before full production, and a Ford Canada spokesperson told CarBuzz that "plans remain on track to start assembling F-Series Super Duty at our Oakville Assembly Complex (OAC) later this year."Early last month, Unifor 707, which represents workers at the plant, began posting notices of recalls to bring people back. The plant had 4,200 workers in 2020, though it's not clear how many it will need to build the new trucks.The investment to start building trucks at the plant has cost Ford nearly $5 billion, Automotive News reports. The figure includes the $2.3 billion investment for Canada to build the new stamping plant and assembly, with other spending going to "several related projects."Ford's new plans have come with more government spending. In 2020, the Canadian government, as well as the Ontario government under Premier Doug Ford (no relation), each promised $216 million in US currency toward the EV project. That has climbed to $340 million from the Feds, though the provincial amount is unclear. Factory Will Build Full Super Duty Line Ford The site will be capable of building the full Super Duty line. Ford Canada would not confirm if any of the trucks would be exported to the US or if they would all remain in Canada, where the F-Series has been the best-selling truck line for 60 consecutive years.Ford also wouldn't say if the trucks would be model year 2026 or the refreshed 2027 vehicles. Since the company did say that it was "laser-focused on delivering a high-quality launch later this year," we believe it will be the 2027 model, and the plant is expected to build around 100,000 units per year.For the 6.8 and 7.3-liter gas V8 engines installed in the Super Duty line, this will be a short trip. They're built close by at Ford's Windsor plant, where the 5.0-liter Coyote V8 is also made. The 6.7-liter diesel is made in Mexico.With production of the Super Duty starting in Canada, two of the three HD truck makers will be building their pickups north of the border. Chevrolet announced it was restarting production of the Silverado one year after ending production of trucks at its plant in Oshawa, Ontario. It builds both LD and HD Silverados at the plant currently.Ford first opened the Oakville plant in 1953 to build vehicles for the Canadian market. It has built multiple models, including the Edsel Line, LTD, Tempo, and even the single-year Frontenac from 1960 that was sold without a brand and meant to give Mercury dealers something to sell against the Ford Falcon in a Silverado-Sierra-like effort.
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