Ford Motor Co. in Dearborn today announced the production start of the all-new F-150 at the historic Ford Rouge Center, and confirmed construction of the new Rouge Electric Vehicle Center where it will build an all-electric F-150 by mid-2022.
The new manufacturing center at the Dearborn-based Rouge Center, once complete, will add 300 jobs and is part of a $700-million investment in building the all-new F-150 lineup, including the first-ever F-150 PowerBoost hybrid. The new jobs will support battery assembly and production of the F-150 PowerBoost hybrid and fully electric F-150.
Including investments for Ford Ranger pickup and upcoming Bronco models at the Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, announced last year, Ford plans to invest close to $1.5 billion and create approximately 3,000 jobs over the next three years in Michigan.
“We are proud to once again build and innovate for the future here at the Rouge with the debut of our all-new F-150 and the construction of a modern new manufacturing center to build the first-ever all-electric F-150,” says Bill Ford, executive chairman of Ford. “This year’s COVID-19 crisis made it clear why it is so important for companies like Ford to help keep our U.S. manufacturing base strong and help our country get back to work.”
A newly released study from Boston Consulting Group found F-Series, America’s best-selling truck since 1977, is among the most valuable consumer goods in America and a key employment driver. Among the specific findings:
- Up to 14 American jobs are supported by each direct Ford F-Series employee. This equates to about 500,000 total jobs attributable to Ford’s F-Series alone
- Overall, Ford supports 1 million American jobs
- Of the more than two million full-sized pickup trucks assembled in the U.S. last year, Ford assembled nearly half – twice as many as any other automaker
- The best-selling F-Series contributed nearly $50 billion to the U.S. GDP
- The F-Series franchise alone generates more revenue than major companies such as McDonalds, Nike, Coca-Cola, Visa and Netflix
The all-new F-150 offers more towing and payload of any light-duty full-size pickup; introduces all-new features to boost customer productivity; features new connected vehicle innovations such as over-the-air updates; and offers an available all-new 3.5-liter PowerBoost hybrid powertrain with Pro Power Onboard — an integrated power generator.
“The critical launch of the all-new F-150 is now underway — on time and with the Built Ford Tough quality our customers demand to get the job done,” says Jim Farley, Ford’s COO and incoming CEO. “F-Series pickups are the backbone of work and productivity across the country. And now we are preparing to build a fully electric version of America’s most popular vehicle, and it will be a seriously capable, purpose-built tool for serious truck customers.”
The electric F-150, which is now undergoing tens of thousands of hours of torture testing and targeting millions of simulated, laboratory, and real world test miles, will be more powerful than existing F-150s, company officials state, and deliver commercial and personal customers the lowest expected lifetime total cost of operation among F-Series trucks. Additionally:
- Ford will debut new technology on the electric F-150 that allows mobile power generation so customers can use their trucks as a power source for places from campsites to jobsites when needed.
- The all-electric F-150 will feature dual electric motors targeted to deliver more horsepower and torque than any F-150 available today, the fastest acceleration, and the ability to tow heavy trailers.
- Electric vehicles including the electric F-150 require significantly less maintenance than a typical gasoline engine, creating more than 40 percent savings for its lifetime total cost of operation.
- A giant front trunk on the electric F-150 adds even more cargo-carrying versatility and security to help protect and move valuable items.
- Like the rest of the all-new F-150 lineup, the electric F-150 will continuously improve over time with fast over-the-air updates.
- Ford also debuted its “Built for America” brand campaign this week, highlighting Ford’s position as the top assembler of vehicle in America and largest employer of U.S. hourly autoworkers. The newest ad, “Built Together,” underscores Ford’s values, celebrating diversity, environmental progress and its longstanding tradition of producing American-made vehicles for hard-working customers.
Overall, Ford and Lincoln Motor Co. employ 188,000 people around the world.
