DETROIT—Ford Motor Co. plans to invest $100 million and create 150 full-time jobs at its Kansas City Assembly Plant to support the upcoming E-Transit van.
The electric van, set to be revealed Nov. 12, will go on sale in late 2021 as a 2022 model. Coupled with a previously disclosed investment of $300 million at the plant for the launch of the redesigned F-150, Ford has hit the $400 million figure it promised to invest in the Kansas City, Mo., plant through 2023 in its 2019 contract with the UAW.
Additionally, Ford said it would invest $150 million and retain 225 jobs to make e-motors and e-transaxles for new EVs at its Van Dyke Transmission Plant in Sterling Heights, Mich. The EV-related products were outlined in the UAW contract and the money is part of the $400 million investment Ford pledged to make there through 2023.
"We're taking our most iconic vehicles and using fully electric technology to deliver even more performance, productivity and capability for customers," Kumar Galhotra, Ford's president of the Americas and international markets group, said in a statement. "We are building out the North American manufacturing footprint to support this growth. This is just the first chapter with more new electric vehicles and more investment to come."
The upcoming Mustang Mach-E will arrive in showrooms next month, Ford said. The auto maker also is planning an F-150 EV pickup, which is due out by mid-2022. Ford has pledged to invest about $11.5 billion globally in electrification through 2022.
Its recently ratified contract with Unifor, the Canadian labor union, includes a $1.35 billion investment to transform its Oakville Assembly Complex in Ontario to produce EVs, starting in 2024.
Ford also said it would increase F-150 EV production by 50 percent, although it did not give specific numbers. The auto maker also said it would add an additional 200 jobs for the vehicle's production, on top of 300 jobs previously announced. It is currently building a standalone facility at the Rouge Complex in Dearborn, Mich., to produce the electric trucks.
Ford also said it is planning to produce an additional EV at its plant in Cuautitlan, Mexico, where it makes the upcoming Mustang Mach-E. Automotive News has reported that Ford was planning Edge- and Nautilus-sized EV crossovers for Mexico in 2023.
"The new vehicle will share a similar electrified platform as the Mustang Mach-E, delivering manufacturing and engineering efficiencies," Ford said in the statement.
