automotive industry

Canada announces Can$590-million investment in Ford electric car plant

Agence France-Presse

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Canada announces Can$590-million investment in Ford electric car plant

(FILES) A Ford logo is seen at the Washington Auto Show in Washington, DC, on January 27, 2015. - Ford's chief financial officer will leave this month after less than two years on the job to take on a senior role with an artificial intelligence company, the automaker announced on October 1, 2020. Tim Stone, who was named Ford's CFO in March 2019 after a long career at Amazon and other technology companies, will leave the automaker on October 15 to work as chief operating officer and chief financial officer at software company ASAPP Inc., Ford said in a news release. (Photo by Mandel Ngan / AFP)

AFP

Ford's assembly plant in Oakville, Ontario, 'will be the largest electric car manufacturing facility anywhere in North America'

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government and the province of Ontario announced on Thursday, October 8, investments of Can$295 million (US$223 million) each in a Ford factory billed as the largest electric vehicle plant in North America.

At a joint news conference with Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Trudeau called the investments totaling Can$590 million “one of the first steps to build a next-generation auto industry.”

It will also help Canada – if Canadians buy the electric vehicles produced at the plant – move toward its goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050, he said.

The Oakville, Ontario assembly plant is to be repurposed as part of a deal announced last month between the Ford Motor Company and the Canadian union Unifor, to build 5 new electric vehicle models and the batteries that will power them.

The project is valued at Can$1.8 billion and will secure up to 5,400 Ford jobs in Canada, including over 3,000 at the Oakville plant.

“Today’s announcement represents the largest investment in Ontario’s auto sector in over 15 years,” said Doug Ford, adding that the plant “will be the largest electric car manufacturing facility anywhere in North America.”

“This is a historic moment,” he said.

According to Statistics Canada, there were 1.9 million new vehicles registered in Canada last year and while electric vehicle sales jumped nearly 40%, they represent a very small portion of the total cars and trucks on Canadian roads.

In the 1st half of 2020, Tesla’s Model 3, with almost 7,000 sold, remained the top EV seller in Canada, followed by the Chevrolet Bolt (1,600 sold), and the Hyundai Kona (1,200 sold), according to industry figures. – Rappler.com

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!