Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) has broken ground at its electric vehicle manufacturing facility in Michigan, building its electric F-150 pickup truck. The manufacturing facility is in its historic Rouge Complex, Dearborn, Michigan, and is expected to start producing the electric pickup truck by 2022.
Ford expanding manufacturing complex for EV production
The automaker said that the manufacturing plant is part of its $700 million investment at the Rouge manufacturing complex. It currently manufactures most of the F-150 pickup trucks for the US market. After the facility is complete, it will employ around 300 new employees.
Ford is planning to launch a new version of the 2021 model F-150. Already production of new trucks in hybrid and internal-combustion versions has commenced at the Dearborn Truck Facility. Production for the full electric F-150 will begin in mid-2022, but Ford is yet to share specifics. But it has confirmed that the pickup truck will have a dual-motor design with more torques and horsepower than the current F-150. It will also have a giant front trunk in the space that normally has an internal combustion engine.
Ford’s EV F-150 truck to debut after rivals in 2022
The electric F-150 pickup truck’s release date means that it will debut after other rivals have hit the road. General Motors’ (NYSE:GM) Hummer pickup and Tesla Inc.’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) Cybertruck are expected to be released next year while electric vehicle startup Rivian is planning to ship its first EV trucks by early next year due to delays in production because of COVID-19.
The upgrade of the Rouge Complex is part of the latest efforts by Ford to add more electric vehicles to its lineup. The company has indicated that it plans to spend around $11.5 billion in producing over a dozen electric vehicle models and hybrids by 2022. The hybrid and battery-powered F-150 are part of its push into electric vehicles. The company will release the Mustang Mach E-electric SUV this year and already has a $500 million investment in EV startup Rivian.
