Ford’s reopened Oakville truck plant gears up to supply U.S. market

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said the United States doesn’t need Canadian automobiles. The reopening of Ford Motor Co.’s F-N assembly plant in Oakville, Ont., tells a different story.

The factory west of Toronto, which closed for retooling in 2024, has reopened to make pickup trucks, most of which are destined for U.S. buyers. Even before the plant’s official launch later in November, the F-Series Super Duty trucks are already being shipped to dealers in Canada and the United States, bolstering production at plants in Kentucky and Ohio, which are running at full capacity. About 2,000 people are back on the job at the plant.

“This is a good news story,” said Fraser Johnson, a business professor at Western University.

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The assembly line produced trucks at about one-third its annual capacity of 100,000 after several weeks of tests, said Sam Fiorani, an analyst at Pennsylvania-based consultancy AutoForecast Solutions. “They have ramped up nicely,” he said.

The plant makes large versions of Ford’s best-selling pickups, including the F-250 and F-350, powered by diesel or gasoline engines. Ford’s Essex engine plant in Windsor makes some of the trucks’ 7.3-litre V-8 gas engines, and has increased production to feed the Oakville factory after a US$500-million investment by the automaker. The diesel engines are made in Mexico, highlighting the integration of the North American auto industry.

The Oakville plant turned out 3,488 trucks in October, as Ford is set to make more than one million F-Series trucks in 2026, said Michael Ward, an analyst at Citi Research.

Ford’s F-Series trucks are the best-selling vehicles in the U.S. and Canada. Canadians bought more than 138,000 of the trucks in 2025, beating the Toyota RAV4 SUV, and outselling the nearest truck competitors combined, the GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado, according to DesRosiers Automotive Consultants Inc. “The F-Series is a tremendous product, with amazing customer loyalty and the ability to shrug off many of its would-be competitors,” said Andrew King, managing partner of DesRosiers.

Shahin Alizadeh, owner of dealership Downtown Ford Toronto, said sales of F-Series trucks have grown to comprise 25 to 30 per cent of his sales. “Loyalty is a big factor with Ford buyers,” he said. “Once they get hooked on the F-Series, they don’t go anywhere else.”

Ford says it has invested $5-billion at the plant, in addition to a $464-million grant from the federal government. The plant made the Ford Edge until it closed in mid-2024 to be retooled to make electric vehicles and battery packs. That plan was delayed and then cancelled altogether amid slowing demand in the U.S. for EVs. Instead, Ford began remaking the assembly line to produce the large trucks, which will include those powered by hybrid and extended-range electric powertrains.

“We’re excited about the local production,” Mr. Alizadeh said. “I don’t know if Ford is, if the tariffs keep going.”

Mr. Trump said his tariffs of 25 per cent on cars made in Canada and elsewhere are intended to foster manufacturing in the U.S. The tariffs are opposed by the North American auto industry – including Detroit-based companies – as an unneeded expense that undermines decades of supply chain integration.

In Canada, General Motors GM-N and Stellantis NV STLA-N responded to the tariffs by reducing production and laying off workers. GM idled its electric van plant in Ingersoll, Ont., laying off more than 1,000 people. The Globe and Mail reported on Friday that Stellantis is expected this week to say it has sold its Brampton, Ont., plant, which has been idle since 2023, to defence contractor Roshel Inc.

Ford and the Unifor union, which represents more than 5,150 Canadian workers, agreed in recent collective bargaining talks to bring back all laid-off Oakville workers by next July. (The plant employed 3,200 Unifor members when it closed in 2024.) Full-rate production workers will make $50.20 an hour by the end of the three-year deal, while skilled trades employees will be paid $62.71.

The agreement also includes a renewed “no closure” clause for all Ford facilities, and a commitment to start a third shift at the Windsor engine plant, likely by 2029.

Industry observers say Ford made the investment in Oakville with the belief that tariffs aren’t forever, and because the F-Series is in high demand. The trucks, whose base models range in price from $62,000 to $128,400, are very profitable. This makes it easier for Ford to absorb part of the cost of the tariffs, although some is expected to be passed on to buyers.

“Given the margins on the product, Ford is able to some extent withstand the tariff costs, at least in the short term until there’s some resolution of the trade dispute with the U.S.,” Prof. Johnson said. “And they need the capacity to be able to protect the market share and sell their vehicles.”

Details of the U.S. content of the trucks were not available, but the industry says the average for cars made in Canada is about 50 per cent. This makes for an effective tariff rate of about 12.5 per cent.

Alicia Boler Davis, president of Ford Pro, the company’s work-truck division, said on a recent conference call with analysts the Oakville plant will help the automaker catch up to demand from large commercial buyers and rental companies. The Oakville trucks will also make up for lost production at U.S. plants slated to pause for upgrades.

“We’re excited about Oakville and that capacity because that’s going to allow us to really grow,” she said.