Ford begins construction on $5.6B Tennessee electric truck facility

Construction of Ford’s new Blue Oval City manufacturing complex in Stanton, Tennessee, is well underway following its announcement last September.

The $5.6 billion campus is scheduled to begin production of electric trucks and batteries in partnership with Korea’s SK On in 2025.

Building supports have begun rising from the property for a facility that will cover 6 square miles and employ 6,000 workers when it is completed.

“This facility is the blueprint for Ford’s future manufacturing facilities and will enable Ford to help lead America’s shift to electric vehicles,” said Eric Grubb, Ford’s director of new footprint construction.

The project is being supported by a $884 million incentive program from the state of Tennessee and is expected to create an additional 21,000 indirect jobs, according to government officials.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee called it the “single largest investment in state history.”

The factory will build a next-generation F-Series “electric pickup that’s different than” the current F-150 Lightning, Ford CEO Jim Farley said in April.

Blue Oval City is part of a broader regional electric vehicle manufacturing investment by Ford that includes a $5.8 billion battery factory in Kentucky.

Ford is aiming to have the global capacity to build 2 million electric vehicles annually by 2026, which would represent nearly a third of its output, but has not committed to a timeframe for going all-electric in the US.

Ford this year split its business into the Model e division dedicated to electric vehicles and Ford Blue, which is focused on internal combustion engine models and hybrids.

Farley this month told the company’s dealers that they will have the option to just sell Ford Blue products if they don’t want to make the investments required to support EV sales.