Ontario Industry Minister Vic Fedeli is standing by his government’s financial support for Ford, following the automaker’s announcement on Thursday that it will begin making its popular F-Series Super Duty truck at its assembly plant in Oakville, Ont., instead of the previously planned electric vehicles.
“Our goal was always to save the 100,000 jobs,” he said, referring to the estimated workforce throughout Ontario’s automotive sector.
The federal and Ontario governments provided Ford with a total of $590 million in 2020 to help transition towards EV production and prevent the closure of the Oakville facility. While Ford is investing $2.3 billion to upgrade its plant, it has revised its EV production goals due to falling demand. According to Fedeli, none of the $295 million that Ontario has promised to Ford has been disbursed yet because it depends on job retention at the company.
Audrey Milette, a spokesperson for federal Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, mentioned that Ford informed the government about plans to produce an “electric infused” version of the Super Duty within 18 months after Oakville is set to reopen in early 2026. However, Ford spokesperson Said Deep did not confirm this timeline due to commercial sensitivities.
Fedeli’s remarks come as both Ontario and Canadian governments have invested significant public funds into revitalizing the province’s auto sector while gearing up for an electric future.
According to Ontario officials, automakers and battery manufacturers have put $43 billion into investments across the province over the past four years. Companies like Ford, Stellantis, and GM have outlined plans for transitioning their operations in Ontario toward electric vehicles with substantial public funding support. Additionally, South Korea’s LG and Germany’s Volkswagen are set to build battery plants in Ontario.
Fedeli stated that delays in Ford’s EV rollout are part of a normal process during such a major transformation in automobile manufacturing.
“Cars have been built the same way for 125 years, so this is a major shift, and there will always be ebbs and tides along the way,” he said.
Ford ceased production of its Edge SUV at Oakville back in May; thus it will require time for retooling before starting production on the Super Duty pickup beginning in 2026.
The automaker also indicated it still plans on creating a larger electric vehicle with three rows of seating at Oakville but hasn’t provided specific timelines yet. On Thursday, Ford announced that reconfiguring its plant would allow them to manufacture a “multi-energy” version of their Super Duty truck. Deep didn’t clarify whether “multi-energy” refers specifically to hybrid or fully electric technology.
Lana Payne, president of Unifor union stated they were anticipating layoffs when Ford initially revealed delays regarding EVs. The decision to bring Super Duty production back was unexpected but positive news for workers.
“This is very good news considering where we were,” she shared during an interview.
As recently as April last year-just weeks prior to Ford’s delay announcement-Champagne noted that electrifying Oakville would position Canada as a “global leader in the EV supply chain.” Fedeli echoed similar sentiments while Ontario Premier Doug Ford emphasized how Oakville would contribute towards leading an “electric vehicle revolution.”
However, since then EV market interest has waned causing car manufacturers to significantly cut back their electric vehicle output targets. After taxpayers contributed 25 percent towards funding Ford’s $2.3 billion retooling efforts at Oakville, it appears they’ll soon be producing heavy-duty pickups instead-for now at least-rather than electric models.
Read Shift-The Logic’s authoritative weekly newsletter on automotive technology industry news-for more; if you know someone who should be reading it, they can sign up here.
Source link
Related Articles
Fedeli’s remarks come as both Ontario and Canadian governments have invested significant public funds into revitalizing the province’s auto sector while gearing up for an electric future.
According to Ontario officials, automakers and battery manufacturers have put $43 billion into investments across the province over the past four years. Companies like Ford, Stellantis, and GM have outlined plans for transitioning their operations in Ontario toward electric vehicles with substantial public funding support. Additionally, South Korea’s LG and Germany’s Volkswagen are set to build battery plants in Ontario.
Fedeli stated that delays in Ford’s EV rollout are part of a normal process during such a major transformation in automobile manufacturing.
“Cars have been built the same way for 125 years, so this is a major shift, and there will always be ebbs and tides along the way,” he said.
Ford ceased production of its Edge SUV at Oakville back in May; thus it will require time for retooling before starting production on the Super Duty pickup beginning in 2026.
The automaker also indicated it still plans on creating a larger electric vehicle with three rows of seating at Oakville but hasn’t provided specific timelines yet. On Thursday, Ford announced that reconfiguring its plant would allow them to manufacture a “multi-energy” version of their Super Duty truck. Deep didn’t clarify whether “multi-energy” refers specifically to hybrid or fully electric technology.
Lana Payne, president of Unifor union stated they were anticipating layoffs when Ford initially revealed delays regarding EVs. The decision to bring Super Duty production back was unexpected but positive news for workers.
“This is very good news considering where we were,” she shared during an interview.
As recently as April last year-just weeks prior to Ford’s delay announcement-Champagne noted that electrifying Oakville would position Canada as a “global leader in the EV supply chain.” Fedeli echoed similar sentiments while Ontario Premier Doug Ford emphasized how Oakville would contribute towards leading an “electric vehicle revolution.”
However, since then EV market interest has waned causing car manufacturers to significantly cut back their electric vehicle output targets. After taxpayers contributed 25 percent towards funding Ford’s $2.3 billion retooling efforts at Oakville, it appears they’ll soon be producing heavy-duty pickups instead-for now at least-rather than electric models.
Read Shift-The Logic’s authoritative weekly newsletter on automotive technology industry news-for more; if you know someone who should be reading it, they can sign up here.
Source link
