Ford Motor Co. plans to relocate production of its revamped 2016 model F-650 and F-750 medium-duty trucks from Mexico to the OEM’s assembly plant in Cleveland, OH, in early 2015 as part of a long-awaited shift announced three years ago. The automaker added that its redesigned 2016 medium-duty trucks are expected to go on sale in the spring of 2015.
As part of its production shift, Ford said it’s investing $168 million to retool the Cleveland-area plant for its new medium-duty trucks – a plant that originally opened in 1974 and currently produces the E-Series lineup of cargo and passenger vans that will be discontinued later this year, though the E-Series cutaway vans and stripped chassis will continue to be built in Ohio for the rest of this decade.
The production shift from Mexico is part of the collective bargaining agreement between Ford and the United Auto Workers negotiated in 2011.