money Inside Ford's new Rouge Electric Vehicle Center, where electric F-150 will be built
Mar. 25—DEARBORN — Where Ford Motor Co.'s former Dearborn Assembly Plant once churned out iconic Mustangs, a new factory stands that will build the next generation of electric vehicles.
The automaker recently completed construction of its new Rouge Electric Vehicle Center, located between Dearborn Truck Plant's assembly and paint plants in the historic Rouge complex. Workers are now readying the facility for production ahead of the planned launch of a battery-electric version of Ford's F-150 pickup truck next year.
The site — which Ford is billing as one of its most technologically advanced in the world — carries historic significance. It's where Dearborn Assembly Plant operated for more than eight decades until it was torn down in the mid-2000s after Mustang production there ended. Within the coming months, the new facility will be outfitted with the machinery and technologies that will support production of a new generation of vehicles.
"This is on a historical site, and we're going to make more history with this building," said Corey Williams, Dearborn Truck Plant manager.
Some 500 workers will be based at the approximately 500,000-square-foot facility, up from 300 positions Ford had previously said would be tied to the plant. The facility was first announced in September, when Ford said it would invest some $700 million in the Rouge complex to support production of the F-150 lineup. The gasoline-powered version of the F-150 is built right next door, and the new EV center will be connected via conveyor belt to the plant's paint shop.
One of the most notable technological features that will be used in the new plant are known as AGCs, or automatic guided carts. The units will replace the traditional assembly line, moving from station to station with vehicle parts attached to them. It marks the first time Ford is using AGCs in a U.S. plant, though they are used in other facilities around the world.
Ford, along with other automakers around the world, is investing heavily in the development of electrified and self-driving vehicles. The company recently announced that it was accelerating its investments in those areas to $22 billion and $7 billion, respectively, through 2025. Already, it has launched one fully battery-electric vehicle, the Mustang Mach-E. Next up are the electric F-150 and an electric version of the Transit commercial van.
The automaker has touted the electric F-150 as delivering the most horsepower and torque of any F-150 to date and the fastest zero-to-60 times. The battery-electric truck will debut new technology that allows mobile power generation; come with dual electric motors; and feature a front trunk to add cargo-carrying capacity. It also will offer over-the-air software updates.
Ford looks to leverage the F-150 — the automaker's profit engine and the best-selling vehicle in the U.S. — as it shifts to EVs. CEO Jim Farley has described the electric truck as a "digital product," and executives have contrasted it to competitors' forthcoming electric trucks by emphasizing its work capabilities.
Plant officials said they expect to start moving employees into the new facility at some point later this year.
In its current state, the facility looks like a large, open warehouse, but that will change in the coming months as tooling work is completed. It was designed to incorporate plenty of natural light, as well as LED lighting that looks like daylight, to make it a more inviting work environment than a traditional factory.
The painted bodies and cabs of trucks will be transported from the paint shop to the floor of the EV facility via conveyor belt and elevator. From there, the AGCs will guide vehicle components down the "assembly line" staffed by operators in charge of installing battery cell packs and electric motors, final assembly, alignment, quality checks, and other jobs.
"The building and the process were deliberately designed together," said Rob Williams, manufacturing engineering manager at Dearborn Truck. The "assembly line" will flow from north to south, with material deliveries taking place along one side of the building and the "assembly line" making a series of loops before its end point, where the assembled trucks' batteries will be charged.
"We're going from an internal combustion engine to a battery so that complexity and training people to go from assembling an engine, a transmission, a driveshaft, to assembling a battery and secondary drive units for each wheel, is much different than what you would do for an internal combustion engine," said Rob Williams.
Plant officials said it's possible that some of the technologies and processes used in the facility could later expand to other Ford plants in the future, depending on how they work out.
As for who will work in the facility, Corey Williams said that's still to be determined, but there will be a process under which Dearborn Truck employees will have the opportunity to take positions there.
The next steps include outfitting the plant with the necessary equipment, training employees, moving employees into the building and then building pre-production models before the mid-2022 launch.
The planning process for the facility began about 18 months ago, construction manager Kim Leonard said. Despite an extended delay because of COVID-19 restrictions on construction, construction was completed in about eight months: "There was a lot of pride in being able to overcome that."
For Corey Williams, the excitement lies in the capabilities the electric F-150 promises.
"To me that is just absolutely amazing, because when you think of a truck ... you think of gas, you think of power," he said. "Now we have an electric F-150. It's going to be a game-changer."
Twitter: @JGrzelewski
