Ford will release details about its upcoming all-electric E-Transit commercial van later in the week, but before sharing any specifics, it announced on Tuesday where this heavy hauler is going to be built. The E-Transit will roll down the line in the automaker's assembly plant in Kansas City, Missouri, alongside the ever-popular F-150 pickup truck.
To facilitate this additional product, the Blue Oval is investing $100 million in the factory and adding about 150 new full-time permanent jobs. Currently, the facility employs around 7,500 workers. This outlay of cash is in addition to the $300 million it already splashed out to build the 2021 F-150 in this facility. Both investments are part of a larger $3.2 billion expenditure the company is making in its North American manufacturing facilities to build future electric vehicles.
Aside from these outlays, Ford is spending billions more to update other facilities around the world, from Ontario, Canada to Cuautitlan, Mexico to right in its own backyard in Sterling Heights, Michigan. These investments will enable it to build a broad range of electric vehicles. But unlike some competitors, the Blue Oval is focusing on delivering more-affordable EVs, rather than ones with six-figure price tags. The new Mustang Mach-E SUV, the E-Transit and the all-electric F-150 are the first wave of this battery-powered onslaught.
The all-electric F-150 will be built in Ford's Famous Rouge plant in Dearborn, Michigan. It is slated to arrive in mid-2022, though curiously, the automaker had to increase production by 50% and add 200 additional jobs to help meet unexpected demand for this battery-powered pickup.
If an all-electric commercial van is what you need -- or, for some reason, crave -- the new E-Transit is set to go on sale in late 2021. Again, more details about this vehicle will be released on November 12, so stay tuned for that.
