Ford investing $1 billion in Michigan plants for Ranger, Bronco production

Ford investing another $200 million for advanced data center

DETROIT – Ford Motor Company announced Tuesday it will invest $1 billion in Michigan plants to prepare for the production of the new Ranger pickup truck and Bronco SUV. 

Auto enthusiasts have been anxiously awaiting the comeback of these two iconic Ford vehicles. The automaker announced during this year's auto show in Detroit the Bronco will be back in 2020 and the Ranger will be back in North America in 2019. 

Ford plans to invest $850 million at the Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne for upgrades in preparation for Ranger and Bronco production. Another $150 million will be invested at the Romeo Engine plant to expand capacity for engine components for several vehicles, including the Ranger and Bronco, the company said in a news release. Ford plans to create or retain 130 jobs at the Romeo plant. 

From Ford: 

In addition, Ford is investing $200 million for an advanced data center to support the company’s expansion to an auto and a mobility company. It is the second of two new data centers Ford is building in Michigan, as the company expects its data usage to increase 1,000 percent – driven by manufacturing and business needs and new mobility services, such as more connected, autonomous and electrified vehicles.

"At Ford, we are investing aggressively in building on our strengths today – including trucks, vans, commercial vehicles, performance vehicles and SUVs – while at the same time growing our leadership in electrification, autonomy and mobility services," said Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s president of The Americas. "As America’s top producer of automobiles, we are proud to be going even further in our commitment to invest in manufacturing here at home."

Details from Ford: 

New Ranger and Bronco at Michigan Assembly

The work to transform Michigan Assembly Plant begins next May. Following the same pattern used during vehicle changeover at Dearborn Truck Plant in 2014, Michigan Assembly will take just four weeks to remove and reinstall the tooling necessary to build the all-new Ford Ranger and Ford Bronco.

The iconic Ranger and Bronco will further expand Ford’s truck and SUV leadership in North America – two of the company’s profit pillars.

During the last five years, sales of midsize pickups have grown nearly 50 percent. Many truck buyers want an affordable, functional, rugged and maneuverable pickup that’s Built Ford Tough. Ranger is built to meet their needs.

Rugged utilities are the second fastest-growing SUV segment during the last five years, making it the time right for Bronco’s return – especially with its legendary 4x4 off-road capability.

Expanded capacity at Romeo Engine

Romeo Engine Plant currently produces engines for the Ford Super Duty, E-Series, Ford GT 350 and GT350R, along with components for F-Series, Mustang, Explorer and Edge. This investment adds capacity and tooling for components for an additional engine when the plant begins its transformation in early 2018.

In North America alone, Ford has invested more than $3.8 billion dollars to develop more than 30 engines since 2009, when the company introduced its first EcoBoost engine. Since then, Ford has produced more than 8 million engines globally with the fuel-saving technology.

Data center supports auto and mobility company expansion

As Ford expands to be both an automotive and mobility company, the company’s data storage requirements are expected to increase from 13 petabytes today to more than 200 petabytes in 2021. This is especially true as Ford grows its leadership in connectivity, autonomous vehicles, electrification and mobility services.

The new data centers are helping Ford create a world-class infrastructure for storage, processing and integration of this data.

The centers also will increase the ability of Ford’s Global Data Insights and Analytics team to transform the customer experience, enable new mobility products and services and help Ford operate more efficiently.

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About the Authors:

Rod Meloni is an Emmy Award-winning Business Editor on Local 4 News and a Certified Financial Plannerâ„¢ Professional.