Reuters
Ford will retool Ontario factory to build EVs starting next year
Ford Motor Co said Tuesday that next year it will start retooling its sport utility vehicle assembly plant in Oakville, Ontario to produce electric vehicles, fulfilling a promise made to Canada’s Unifor union during contract bargaining in 2020. Ford plans to begin overhauling the Oakville complex in the second quarter of 2024, idling most of the factory’s production workers until the new EV assembly system starts up in late 2024, company officials said Tuesday during a conference call. As part of the C$1.8 billion ($1.34 billion) overhaul, the 70-year-old complex will get a new battery pack assembly operation, said Dave Nowicki, Ford’s director of manufacturing operations for electric vehicles.