Ford announced plans on March 24 to build an electric truck plant at its $5.6 billion BlueOval City complex outside Memphis, Tennessee. The American automaker set an annual production rate target of 500,000 units annually.
“BlueOval City is the blueprint for Ford’s electric future around the world. We will build revolutionary electric vehicles at an advanced manufacturing site that works in harmony with the planet, aligning business growth and innovation with environmental progress.”
Bill Ford, Ford’s executive chair
Ford to produce Project T3 in 2025
Ford revealed that its next-generation electric vehicle, code-named Project T3, will be the first EV to cross the assembly line at the BlueOval City complex in 2025.
Interestingly, “T3” stands for Trust the Truck, per America’s second leading automaker.
Ford further stated that the next-gen electric truck would feature a clean sheet design compared to the F-150 Lightning.
Most interestingly, the T3 is designed to be “software-defined,” which can support over-the-air updates.
Remarkably, Ford is simultaneously developing the T3 and the new production plant to enhance operational efficiencies.
“Project T3 is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to revolutionize America’s truck. We are melding 100 years of Ford truck know-how with world-class electric vehicle, software and aerodynamics talent. It will be a platform for endless innovation and capability.”
Jim Farley, Ford president, and CEO
Overall production footprint
Ford claims that the general production footprint at the plant will be 30% lower than conventional plants.
The automaker intends to reach an increased production rate while utilizing carbon-free power since the plant’s inception.
Apart from that, Ford also intends to heat the assembly plant with carbon-free energy recovered from the site’s geothermal system and utility infrastructure. Through this, Ford anticipates saving around 300 million cubic feet of natural gas annually. For those unaware, that amount of natural gas is typically required to heat factories building similar vehicles.
Furthermore, Ford will also use zero-waste-to-landfill sites without fresh water consumption to save water.
See Also:
- Ford begins construction at Blue Oval SK EV Battery Park in Kentucky
- Upcoming Ford EVs are “deeply developing,” with smaller batteries
- Ford selects Rockwell Automation to advance its EV program
- Ford forecasts a multi-billion dollar loss on its EV business in 2023
- Ford teases the impending launch of a new electric vehicle in Europe
In hindsight, Ford broke ground at BlueOval City last fall, which is meant to be the automaker’s hub for future EV and battery cell production.
Furthermore, the factory will play a major role in aiding the automaker to achieve its sales target of 2 million EVs per year by 2026.
