Ford Co.’s trucks made at BlueOval City in West Tennessee, the company announced Monday, will be gas-powered — not electric — and production will begin in 2029.
The change in strategy was among many Ford announced Monday on its “From the Road” news site. The broad changes came as Ford said it chased consumer choices to increase profitability.
The changes, especially the ones related to electric vehicles, cost the company $19.5 billion in future value loss. The company expects about $5.5 billion in cash effects with the majority paid in 2026 and the remainder in 2027.
The moves, though, raised the company’s earnings projections by about $7 billion on cost improvements and underlying business strength.
However, the company did not provide many details on West Tennessee. It said this:
“On the BlueOval City campus, the Tennessee Electric Vehicle Center is renamed Tennessee Truck Plant. The facility will produce all-new Built Ford Tough truck models with production starting in 2029.
“These new affordable gas-powered trucks will broaden Ford’s truck family and extend its market leadership, replacing the previously planned next-generation electric truck.”
The company is not out of the electric vehicle game, continuing to produce a smaller selection of EVs. It is, however, launching a battery storage system business. The move is to capture the large demand for battery energy storage from data centers and infrastructure to support the electric grid.
For this, Ford will repurpose existing U.S. battery manufacturing capacity in Glendale, Kentucky. The company will also invest about $2 billion over the next two years to scale the business.
Last week, Ford, SK On, SK Battery America and BlueOval SK entered into a joint venture disposition agreement. Under this mutual agreement, a Ford subsidiary will independently own and operate the Kentucky battery plants. SK On will fully own and operate the Tennessee battery plant.
“This is a customer-driven shift to create a stronger, more resilient and more profitable Ford,” Ford president and CEO Jim Farley said in a statement. “The operating reality has changed, and we are redeploying capital into higher-return growth opportunities: Ford Pro, our market-leading trucks and vans, hybrids and high-margin opportunities like our new battery energy storage business.”