Ford to expand large truck production to Canada

DETROIT – Ford Motor will expand production of its large Super Duty trucks to a Canadian plant that was previously set to be converted into an all-electric vehicle hub.

The new plans include investing about $3 billion to expand Super Duty production, including $2.3 billion at Ford’s Oakville Assembly Complex in Ontario, Canada, Ford said Thursday. The remaining investment will be used to increase production at supporting facilities in the U.S. and Canada, the company said.

Ford currently produces Super Duty trucks – the larger siblings of the F-150 full-size pickup used largely by commercial and business customers – at plants in Ohio and Kentucky.

Ford said the Canadian plant, which is expected to come online in 2026, will add capacity of roughly 100,000 units annually.

“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,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said in a release. “This move benefits our customers and supercharges our Ford Pro commercial business.”

Ford had previously announced plans to invest $1.3 billion into the Canadian plant for EV production. Those plans included a new three-row SUV, which the company recently delayed until 2027.

The announcement comes weeks after Farley said full electrification of “big, huge, enormous” vehicles such as Ford’s Super Duty trucks were “never going to make money.”

Ford said it has plans to “electrify” the next-generation of its Super Duty trucks, however it declined Thursday to disclose additional details.

The company said the move supports Farley’s Ford+ plan for profitable growth, including maximizing Ford’s manufacturing footprint.

The Ford+ plan initially focused heavily on EVs when it was announced in May 2021 during the company’s first investor day under Farley, who took over the helm of the automaker the previous October.

At the time, there was significant optimism around all-electric vehicle adoption and potential profitability that have not materialized as quickly as many had expected.