Like a legacy rock band trying to cater to their audience, Ford is sticking to the hits at the expense of the new stuff.
What happened: Ford plans to spend US$3 billion to bring production of its F-Series Super Duty pickups to its Oakville, Ontario plant in 2026. The twist? The assembly of these gas-guzzlers will arrive as long-awaited EV production plans at the plant have hit a snag.
Catch-up: In April, Ford said that EV production would commence at the plant in 2027 instead of the original 2025 launch date — though the $1.3 billion EV re-tooling would continue — as it waits for new battery developments and consumer demand to grow.
Why it matters: The reality is that pickups are magnitudes more popular than EVs, particularly trucks in Ford’s F-Series, which are the best-selling vehicles in all of Canada. Even as EV sales creep up, they’re still not high enough to justify mass production changes.
Zoom out: Ford isn’t the only automaker who got a little too hot and heavy with EVs and is cooling things off this year. GM delayed an EV pickup plant in Detroit, Nissan paused U.S. production plans for EV sedans, and Mercedes and Stellantis put two European battery plants on ice.—QH