Ford Invests $3.7 Billion To Build New Mustang And More EVs

Ford has announced it will invest $3.7 billion across the Midwest as it plans to ramp up production of new EVs and the seventh-generation Mustang in the coming years. Of that sizeable investment, $2 billion will be funneled into Michigan plants: Flag Rock will build the upcoming muscle car and the Michigan facility will produce the new Ranger.

Ford’s Rouge Electric Vehicle Center will see production output of the F-150 Lightning increase to 150,000 units a year. “The next few years promise to be the most exciting and transformational in our company’s history,” said Ford Blue president, Kumar Galhotra.

Production of the electric pickup truck kicked off in April this year and, already, the 2022 model has sold out.

It doesn’t stop there, though. The Kansas City plant will receive a $95 million investment and 1,100 new jobs. The automaker is adding a third shift here in an attempt to increase production of the Transit and E-Transit commercial vans.

But the big news comes in the form of a new commercial EV. Galhotra surprised plant workers with the announcement. “You will be building an all-new commercial electric vehicle [by] the middle of the decade. Ohio assembly has a bright future,” he said.

In preparation for the newcomer, Ford will spend $1.5 billion and create 1,800 jobs at the Avon Lake-based facility. The Blue Oval hasn’t specified what the battery-powered newcomer will be, but the company’s CEO has hinted at a second electric truck.

Elsewhere, the company plans to convert as many as 3,000 part-time UAW employees to full-time and has promised to sink $1 billion into making life easier for its employees. “This investment will go [towards] better access to healthy food, better security … and break facilities, new EV charging points,” added Galhotra.

Ford’s all-out assault on the electric vehicle segment has well and truly kicked off. In March, the company teased seven new EVs that will debut by 2024 and we’ve already seen the first, in the form of the European E-Transit Custom. “This is all part of our plan to produce two million electric vehicles globally, by the end of 2026,” said the Ford Blue president.

Those who are reticent to make the switch over to battery power haven’t been forgotten, though. Galhotra said ICE lovers will be catered to for years to come. “For the millions of loyal Ford customers who aren’t ready to go electric yet … we will continue to build great new iconic vehicles.”