Ford is moving production of its redesigned 2016 F-650 and F-750 medium duty trucks from Mexico to its Ohio, US, assembly plant early next year with the trucks going on sale in spring 2015.
The company is spending US$168m to retool the 40 year old plant near Cleveland which currently produces E-Series vans and other commercial vehicles.
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E-Series cargo and passenger van production will end later this year though cutaway vans and stripped chassis – popular bases for motor caravans, tourist coaches and airport shuttles – will continue to be built in Ohio for most of this decade.
The new US-specification Transit line which will replace the E-Series vans goes production this spring at Ford’s Kansas City assembly plant.
Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s president of The Americas, said: “Shifting production of the F-650 and F-750 medium-duty trucks to Ohio helps secure a solid future for the workers at this facility. Building these trucks in-house will utilise our expertise from our other commercial vehicle lines to offer a better product at a competitive price.
The production shift from Mexico is part of the collective bargaining agreement Ford and the United Auto Workers negotiated in 2011. The trucks are currently built in a plant that is a joint venture with truckmaker Navistar which also supplies large diesel engines for some Ford truck lines.
Anchoring Ford’s commercial truck range, the new F-650 and F-750 now include segment-exclusive petrol and diesel engines. Ford remains the only automaker to offer a petrol engine for medium-duty trucks. The 6.8-litre V10 is available for both F-650 and F-750 models with the 6R140 six-speed automatic transmission. This engine can be factory-prepped for converting to compressed natural gas or liquid propane gas as cost-effective alternatives to unleaded petrol.
