Ford Begins Assembly Of 2021 Ford F-150, Breaks Ground On Electric Vehicle Plant At Rouge Center

It’s a huge moment in Ford’s recent history right now, for a number of reasons; many of which we’ve documented here at Torque News. Ford has successfully launched the much-anticipated Ford Bronco (three iterations of it in fact). And earlier this summer they launched the 14th-generation of the Ford F-150, which is the best-selling vehicle in North America.

And they did so all in the middle of a global pandemic. Oh, and they just recently changed CEOs too. So, to say 2020 will be a memorable for Ford is an understatement.

But, the memories continued as Ford has broken ground on the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center which is next door to the Ford Rouge Center which is where the 2021 F-150 will be manufactured. Ford says the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center will run on renewable energy.

This aligns pretty well with what Tesla has done with its factories too, setting up a pretty interesting Ford vs. Tesla “war” in the coming future.

Including investments for Bronco and Ranger at the Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Mich., announced last year, Ford plans to invest more than $1.45 billion and create approximately 3,000 jobs over the next three years in Michigan alone.

“We are proud to once again build and innovate for the future here at the Rouge with the debut of our all-new F-150 and the construction of a modern new manufacturing center to build the first-ever all-electric F-150,” said Bill Ford, executive chairman, Ford Motor Company. “This year’s COVID-19 crisis made it clear why it is so important for companies like Ford to help keep our U.S. manufacturing base strong and help our country get back to work.”

Let’s take a look at what the 2021 F-150 means economically to Ford and the regional economy and also look at the 2022 all-electric Ford F-150.

What The Ford F-150 Means To The Economy
A newly released study from Boston Consulting Group (BCG) found F-Series, America’s best-selling truck since 1977, is among the most valuable consumer goods in America and a key employment driver. Among the specific findings:
• Up to 14 American jobs are supported by each direct Ford F-Series employee. This equates to about 500,000 total jobs attributable to Ford’s F-Series alone
• Overall, Ford supports 1 million American jobs
• Of the more than two million full-sized pickup trucks assembled in the U.S. last year, Ford assembled nearly half – twice as many as any other automaker
• The best-selling F-Series contributed nearly $50 billion to the U.S. GDP
• The F-Series franchise alone generates more revenue than major companies such as McDonalds, Nike, Coca-Cola, Visa and Netflix

The all-new F-150 raises the standard for all light-duty trucks. It targets the most towing and payload of any light-duty full-size pickup; introduces all-new features to increase customer productivity; features new connected vehicle innovations such as over-the-air updates that help keep F-150 at the forefront of technology; and offers an available all-new 3.5-liter PowerBoost hybrid powertrain with Pro Power Onboard – an integrated power generator.

“The critical launch of the all-new F-150 is now underway -- on time and with the Built Ford Tough quality our customers demand to get the job done,” said Jim Farley, Ford’s chief operating officer and incoming CEO. “F-Series pickups are the backbone of work and productivity across the country. And now we are preparing to build a fully electric version of America’s most popular vehicle, and it will be a seriously capable, purpose-built tool for serious truck customers.”

Building the 2022 all-electric F-150
The electric F-150, which is undergoing tens of thousands of hours of torture testing and targeting millions of simulated, laboratory and real world test miles, will be more powerful than any F-150 available today and deliver commercial and personal customers the lowest expected lifetime total cost of operation among F-Series trucks.

Additionally:
• Ford will debut new technology on the electric F-150 that allows mobile power generation so customers can use their trucks as a power source for places from campsites to jobsites when needed
• The all-electric F-150 will feature dual electric motors targeted to deliver more horsepower and torque than any F-150 available today, the fastest acceleration, and the ability to tow heavy trailers
• Electric vehicles including the electric F-150 require significantly less maintenance than a typical gasoline engine, creating more than 40 percent savings for its lifetime total cost of operation
• A giant front trunk on the electric F-150 adds even more cargo-carrying versatility and security to help protect and move valuable items
• Like the rest of the all-new F-150 lineup, the electric F-150 will continuously improve over time with fast over-the-air updates

Coinciding with all this news, Ford is a launching a new ad campaign called “Built for America”. Check out the new video below.

Find all of our information on the next-generation Ford F-150 right here at Torque News including my story on pricing out and ordering your F-150 using Ford’s pricing matrix. If nothing else it’s fun to dream and fun to play with all the ways you can build the 2021 Ford F-150. The 2021 Ford F-150 is due at dealerships by November.

Also, when it comes to electric trucks, the Tesla Cybertruck has kind of hogged the limelight. Certainly Ford is aiming a battle versus Tesla with the launch and financial commitment to the Electric Rouge Center. But, read my article on why the Cybertruck is no threat to the EV F-150.

If you’re a fan of Ford, you should be quite excited about how Ford has turned a financially awful year around, but you should also be even more excited about the future. There’s a lot of excitement going on in Dearborn.

Jimmy Dinsmore has been an automotive journalist for more than a decade and been a writer since the high school. His Driver’s Side column features new car reviews and runs in several newspapers throughout the country. He is also co-author of the book “Mustang by Design” and “Ford Trucks: A Unique Look at the Technical History of America’s Most Popular Truck”. Also, Jimmy works in the social media marketing world for a Canadian automotive training aid manufacturing company. Follow Jimmy on Facebook, Twitter, at his special Ford F-150 coverage on Twitter and LinkedIn. You can read the most of Jimmy's stories by searching Torque News Ford for daily Ford vehicle report.