Ford will invest $3.7 billion into manufacturing in the United States. A portion of that money will go towards building the seventh-generation Mustang and the latest iteration of the Ranger. The automaker will also produce an electric commercial vehicle in Ohio.
Ford will build the new Mustang at the Flat Rock Assembly Plant, and the new Ranger at the Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne. It'll be part of a $2 billion investment into the state factories that will add 3,200 union jobs. The money will also go towards increasing the production of the F-150 Lightning EV to 150,000 examples per year at Rouge Electric Vehicle Center.
Gallery: Ford 2022 Factory Expansion Announcement
Ford hides an Easter egg in the announcement for the seventh-gen Mustang. The "O" in "generation" shows a six-speed manual shift pattern, which hints that the new pony car continues to be available with a three-pedal layout.
This fits with an earlier statement from Ali Jammoul, vehicle program director of Icons and Ford Performance. "So I can’t tell you the manual gearbox is here to stay, but it’s clear there will be more electrification, and manual gearboxes will not be around in the future," he said earlier this year.
According to a recent rumor, the new Mustang will debut in April 2023 and will go on sale later that year as a 2024 model year product. The existing EcoBoost and Coyote V8 engines will reportedly continue to power the vehicle at launch. A hybrid powertrain will allegedly come later.
Ford already debuted the version of the new Ranger for global markets. We're expecting the North American version to have changes like different powertrains.
In Ohio, Ford will invest $1.5 billion to build a new electric commercial vehicle starting mid-decade. The money will go towards expanding the Ohio Assembly Plant to produce the EV. This will add 1,800 union jobs there. In addition, $100 million will be split between the Lima Engine and Sharonville Transmission plants for unspecified improvements.
The Kansas City Assembly Plant in Missouri will receive a $95 million investment to increase production of the Transit commercial van and the electric E-Transit. This will create 1,100 union jobs for a third shift there.
