Ford invests $1.5 billion in building an “all-new commercial electric vehicle” in Ohio

Ford announced today a new $1.5 billion investment in building an “all-new commercial electric vehicle” in Ohio.

Today, Ford announced $3.7 billion in investments in creating 6,200 jobs in the US.

Most of the money is for the production of an all-new Ranger pickup at the Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne and an all-new Mustang coupe at Flat Rock Assembly Plant. Some of the money is also going to increasing production of the F-150 Lightning electric truck to 150,000 per year at Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, but that was already in the plans.

The announcement did include a brand new investment in the production of a new commercial electric vehicle:

$1.5 billion investment and 1,800 union jobs at Ohio Assembly Plant to assemble an all-new EV commercial vehicle starting mid-decade, along with an additional 90 jobs and $100 million investment between Lima Engine and Sharonville Transmission plants.

Ford didn’t elaborate about that new commercial electric vehicle.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine commented on the investment:

The ingenuity and talent of Ohio’s automotive workforce is second to none, and Ford’s investment in Avon Lake will play an essential role in growing the EV space. Ford has been a partner in Ohio for generations, and its confidence in the Ford Ohio Assembly Plant operations secures EV operations in Lorain County that will be critical for decades to come.

The automaker also announced a $95 million investment that will partly be used to accelerate production of the E-Transit electric van:

$95 million investment and 1,100 union jobs for a third shift at Kansas City Assembly Plant to increase production of the Transit, America’s best-selling commercial van, and the all-new E-Transit electric van.

The investments announced today come after Ford announced the separation of its EV business from its internal combustion business earlier this year.