Plant chairman Marc Brennan said in a member update that the last Edge will be built on 26 April. This will mark the end of an era, as the crossover SUV was introduced at the 2006 North American International Auto Show and achieved modest success.
The Blue Oval sold 130,125 units in the United States during its first full year of production and sales hovered around that mark for most of its life. However, sales dropped following the COVID-19 pandemic and the model is being put out to pasture in North America thanks to Ford's electrification push.
Speaking of electrification, Brennan said the details of Oakville's transition to an electric vehicle hub are still being worked out. This has been in the works for some time, as Ford and Unifor (a Canadian general trade union) have reached an agreement to save the plant in 2020.
2021 Ford Edge
At the time, Unifor National President Jerry Dias said the agreement would see Ford invest $1.95 billion CAD ($1.45 billion USD) to build five new electric vehicles at the plant. The first was slated to arrive in 2025 with the last going into production in 2028.
In 2023, Ford officially announced plans to transform the facility into the Oakville Electric Vehicle Complex. The automaker revealed that it would begin retooling and modernising the facility in the second quarter of 2024 as part of its efforts to "prepare for production of next-generation electric vehicles beginning in 2025".
This is a huge undertaking, as the site will be completely redesigned and streamlined. As well as body, paint and assembly buildings, there will be an all-new battery plant using components sourced from the BlueOval SK Battery Park in Kentucky.
Source: Automotive News
