Ford Scraps Plans For Electric Pickup At BlueOval City, Turns To Gas-Powered Truck Models

Production at the West Tennessee plant is now expected to start in 2029.

Image Credit: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout

***Note from The Tennessee Conservative – this article posted here for informational purposes only.

By Cassandra Stephenson and Sam Stockard [Tennessee Lookout -CC BY-NC-ND 4.0] –

Ford Motor Company is scrapping plans to manufacture a next-generation electric pickup truck at BlueOval City in West Tennessee, looking instead to gas-powered pickup trucks with more stable paths to profit.

The auto manufacturer will begin producing gas-powered Built Ford Tough truck models at its renamed Tennessee Truck Plant in 2029, according to a Monday news release. The facility was previously called the Tennessee Electric Vehicle Center. 

“Ford no longer plans to produce select larger electric vehicles where the business case has eroded due to lower-than-expected demand, high costs and regulatory changes,” the release states.

A representative for Ford did not immediately respond to questions about what this change means for the 5,760 new jobs promised in exchange for a nearly $1 billion state economic incentive package for the site, which was originally slated to begin producing electric pickup trucks in 2025.

“We are aware of Ford’s decision to update their production plans; however, this corporate decision does not change or diminish their commitments to West Tennessee,” the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development stated Tuesday. “Ford’s promised jobs and investment remain on track and will drive long-term, generational growth across the region.”

Gov. Bill Lee said Tuesday that the state will be in “continuous communication” with Ford about the incentives tied to the facility’s job count, “but we deal with that regularly with companies that change plans.”

Lee said he is “encouraged that their commitment is to stay” and produce the gas-powered trucks in Tennessee. But he was uncertain they would fulfill the job requirements necessary to reap the state funds.

“I think we’ll have to watch this play out over the next few years,” he said. “We’ll be talking to them, obviously, about what happens if they don’t (meet hiring requirements), what are their plans to meet those required job numbers.”

Plans at BlueOval City, a $5.6 billion campus located on about 3,300 acres of former farmland, have shifted significantly since the manufacturing plant was announced in 2021. 

The incentive package for Ford includes a $500 million reimbursement from the state for construction costs, which is contingent on creating at least 90% of the promised jobs within 10 years. Failure to meet at least 80% of that workforce by 2032 would trigger the clawback of the $500 million and an additional $175 million for the value of state land donated to the project.

Ford turns focus to smaller EVs, hybrids, battery storage

The pivot follows an announcement that Ford and SK On will end their joint U.S. battery factory venture, BlueOval SK. 

The joint venture launched in 2021 to build three battery plants: two in Kentucky and one at Ford’s BlueOval City site in Stanton. SK On will own and operate the Tennessee battery plant on Ford’s campus, and a Ford subsidiary will take full ownership of the Kentucky plants. SK On stated it would maintain a strategic relationship with Ford, as the Tennessee battery plant is located on Ford’s campus.

Plans for BlueOval City originally had production of Ford’s new all-electric, next-generation pickup truck beginning in 2025. But slowing demand and the rollback of federal electric vehicle funding and tax credits pushed that date out twice — first to 2027 and then to 2028 as Ford began to focus on smaller, more affordable electric models and hybrids.

“This is a customer-driven shift to create a stronger, more resilient and more profitable Ford,” Ford President and CEO Jim Farley stated in Monday’s release. “The operating reality has changed, and we are redeploying capital into higher-return growth opportunities: Ford Pro, our market-leading trucks and vans, hybrids and high-margin opportunities like our new battery energy storage business.”

Ford announced a $2 billion investment in its Kentucky manufacturing plant in August, converting the plant to produce smaller electric vehicles. The first vehicle from the company’s new Universal EV Platform will be a mid-sized pickup truck assembled at the Louisville plant starting in 2027.

Ford will turn its focus to producing a range of hybrids and extended range electric vehicles — electric vehicles that also feature combustion engines that act as generators to recharge the vehicle’s battery, extending range for long trips. The company expects about half of its global volume will be hybrids, extended-range electric vehicles and fully electric vehicles by 2030.

Plans have also changed for the next-generation F-150 Lightning, which will now be an extended-range electric vehicle produced in Dearborn, Michigan. Ford also scrapped plans to produce a new electric commercial van for Europe, and will switch to producing affordable gas and hybrid commercial vans in North America, to be manufactured in Ohio.