Image Credit: Gov. Bill Lee / Facebook
The Tennessee Conservative Staff –
Despite already delaying production of electric trucks at Tennessee’s BlueOval City by several months, Ford Motor Company announced plans on Wednesday that would delay the schedule even more.
Electric truck and battery production was scheduled to begin at the new West Tennessee location in 2025. But Ford delayed that a few months ago, stating that the first electric pickup trucks would be available from the plant beginning in 2026.
Now the company says the vehicles won’t begin production until 2027.
Ford told The Commercial Appeal that the delay came about because the company decided to use lower-cost battery technology. If successful, the new plan would ideally reduce costs for the company and allow them to increase profits on all of their electric vehicles.
Critics are not so sure that the change of date is really about updated technology. Sources state that, while Ford sold 24,000 F-150 Lightning electric trucks in 2023, dealers are now reporting fewer sales and increased inventory on their lots.
BlueOval City, located in Stanton, was expected to provide about 6,000 jobs for residents of Haywood County and the surrounding areas. Economically disadvantaged counties in the area were banking on a boost to their local economies as a result.
In 2021, the Republican-controlled state legislature joined forces with Governor Lee to approve the budgeting of around $1 billion worth of taxpayer funds, housed in the state’s “Rainy Day Fund,” for the project.
Despite the delays, leaders in the state are still trying to convince the public – and possibly themselves – that truck manufacturing at BlueOval City will eventually become a reality.
Haywood County mayor David Livingston said last year that BlueOval was “too big to fail.” He says he still stands by that statement today.
“Construction at BlueOval City remains in progress and battery production will begin on schedule,” said a spokesperson from Governor Lee’s office after the second delay was announced. “Ford’s investment in our state is significant and a testament to our skilled workforce and leading role in the future of American automotive manufacturing.
3 Responses
This will be Lee’s legacy…..bending the knee to ‘corporate America’ in the name of ‘economic vitality’. The governor and legislature would have better served West Tennessee tax payers by funding infrastructure and small businesses, but their pockets would not have been ‘lined’ with filthy lucre. Unemployed West Tennesseans would have been better off with legislators and a political leader that de-regulated big government to inject power to the people in the form of small business rather than fund with tax payer dollar incentives and ‘give a-ways’ to large, unaccountable corporations. But, the Chamber of Commerce Republicans and their educrats in academia will have plenty of money and fodder to debate, all in the name of keeping their power base, rather than turning the power over to the people.
When will the TN legislature kick in the clawback on this horrible waste of TN taxpayer dollars? There should be NO ECD agency in the state of TN. All it is is corporate welfare with the governor picking winners and losers. Should be against the TN Constitution. Where’s the TN AG Skirmetti?
“Too BIG to fail” says Haywood County mayor David Livingston. Let’s hope that’s a true statement because if it does fail, west Tennessee will be like a ghost town. Too many houses have already been built, too many businesses have been established, too many promises have been made, all on the words of politicians and corporations. I’m honestly hoping it will be too big to fail but, is it?