Ford announces that Canada will invest $1.3 billion in the production of electric cars

Ford on Tuesday said it will invest C$1.8 billion ($1.3 billion) to renovate an assembly plant in Oakville, Ontario, Canada to make electric vehicles and batteries for the North American market.

The complex “will be a high-volume manufacturing hub for North American electric vehicle production, transforming the existing buildings into a state-of-the-art facility that leverages Oakville’s experienced workforce,” the company said in a statement.

The transformation, which is expected to lead to thousands of new employees, is scheduled to begin in mid-2024 and start producing electric cars in early 2025.

The 487-hectare site currently has three body shops, one paint shop and a car assembly building.

The converted campus will feature a new 407,000-square-foot on-site battery factory utilizing cells and arrays from the BlueOval SK Battery Park in Kentucky.

Oakville workers take these components and assemble the battery packs, which are then installed in vehicles that are assembled on site.

Canada has invested heavily in electric vehicle batteries, touting tax incentives, an abundance of key minerals and clean energy to lure automakers.

Volkswagen announced in March that its first North American battery plant will be built in St. Thomas, Ontario.

Automaker Stellantis (formerly Fiat Chrysler) and LG Energy Solution have also partnered to build a new battery factory in Canada, while French tire maker Michelin is expanding its local production facility.

And General Motors has signed a long-term deal with Brazilian mining giant Vale to supply Canadian nickel for use in electric car batteries.

“The partnership between Ford and Canada will help position us as a global leader in the electric vehicle supply chain for decades to come,” Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said in a statement.

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