DEARBORN, Mich. – Ford Motor Company unveiled a plan Thursday to create 300 jobs and build a $700 million electric truck plant at Dearborn’s Rouge complex.
The new Ford F-150 is expected to fund the electric F-150 and the plant where they build it, and a new plant is just what the Michigan economy ordered.
Normally, a new F-150 with more storage space to lock tools and better connectivity would be a big deal in and of itself. On Thursday, it took a back seat.
“Today, I’m pleased to announce the new Rouge Electric Vehicle Center, which is under construction,” Ford Executive Chairman William Clay Ford Jr. said. “Behind me is where we are going to build the first-ever all electric F-150, and this zero-emission F-150 will be on the road two years from now.”
The massive new plant is already under construction. It will build both the batteries and the vehicles themselves.
Ford officials said the plan will bring 300 new jobs to Dearborn.
The truck is tested to work in Alaskan cold or Floridian heat and will offer more than seven kilowatts of generating power to power tools at job sties.
New Ford CEO Jim Farley said that is a huge difference-maker.
“No other trucks can power your blender, but ours will power your entire tailgate party,” Farley said.
Guidehouse insights auto analyst Sam Abuelsamid said the electric F-150 comes with another huge difference.
“The electric F-150 will have 40% lower total costs of ownership over its lifespan, and that includes when you factor in the price of the vehicle service and fuel,” Abuelsamid said. "For commercial construction, that’s a really important part of the equation.
Bill Ford stressed the country needs a solid manufacturing base for many things, and the Rouge Assembly Plant has provided that for more than a century. He even pointed out that in the ’90s there was serious thought about closing the plant, but he said no and demanded it become a world-class plant.