BLUE OVAL CITY, Tenn. - Ford's future is slowing coming to fruition in West Tennessee.
"This is the largest investment in the history of Ford Motor Company," said Dan Brady, Ford's director of electric vehicle sales and retail marketing.
The company's $5.6 billion dollar investment is becoming a reality at BlueOval City. The 3,600-acre site has been under construction for three years.
"Being a construction guy, this is a once-in-a-lifetime (experience)," said Sam Kandah, Ford's construction manager. "You're never going to see this magnitude of construction again."
On Thursday, company leaders joined the community to celebrate a new sculpture created by University of Memphis students.
Ford could not say when the site will open. However, last fall the company pushed back production of its new electric truck to the second half of 2027. When FOX13 asked Brady what the vehicle will look like, he laughed, "it's a truck! It's an electric truck."
The company is struggling to sell electric vehicles. Ford expects to lose $5.5 billion producing electric vehicles in the year 2025.
In April, the company's overall sales grew 16%. However, its electric vehicle sales fell by 40%.
FOX13 asked Brady if the company remains committed to delivering thousands of jobs, despite losing money.
"It's interesting you note that we're struggling to sell electric vehicles," he said. "We had a light April, because we sold so many in the first quarter. We've actually seen quite a bit of demand through electric vehicles."
He insisted that Ford will deliver thousands of jobs to west Tennessee, although the exact number of positions and pay is not known. "Final numbers will come as we start to reveal the plant," he said.
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