Ford’s Cleveland Engine Plant Gets $145 Million Upgrade

GreenTransitNews | February 26, 2016

Ford is investing $145 million to upgrade its Cleveland Engine Plant to support strong demand for an all-new second-generation 3.5-liter EcoBoost® engine family for the 2017 Ford F-150 lineup.

The investment in second-generation EcoBoost engine technology is part of the $9 billion commitment the company made in the 2015 Ford-UAW collective bargaining agreement to invest in its U.S. plants. Ford, which has 80,000 U.S. employees, is committed to creating or securing 8,500 hourly jobs in communities across Michigan, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, New York and Ohio over the next four years. Since 2011, Ford has invested more than $10.2 billion in its plants across the United States.

Cleveland Engine Plant produces the current version of the 3.5-liter EcoBoost engine, which powers 2016 Ford F-150, Explorer, Expedition, Transit, Flex and Taurus.

“Ford customers have embraced EcoBoost’s unbeatable combination of power and efficiency, with more than 60 percent of F-150 customers choosing trucks powered by EcoBoost,” said Joe Hinrichs, Ford president, The Americas. “This second-generation 3.5-liter EcoBoost engine is another great example of Ford continuously improving and innovating to give these hardworking customers the best engines and trucks we can.”

In addition to the 3.5-liter EcoBoost engine that has been deployed throughout the F-150 lineup, the 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor will be powered by Ford’s all-new second-generation, high-output 3.5-liter EcoBoost that produces more power with greater efficiency than the previous 6.2-liter V8. The high-output 3.5-liter EcoBoost is a Raptor-exclusive in the F-150 lineup, paired with an all-new 10-speed transmission for improved efficiency.

Cleveland Engine Plant opened in 1951 and employs more than 1,500 people. It has produced more than 1 million EcoBoost engines since 2009.

Along with the current 3.5-liter EcoBoost for F-150, the plant builds the 2.0-liter EcoBoost for Edge, the 2.3-liter EcoBoost for Explorer, Mustang and Lincoln MKC, as well as the 3.7-liter V6 rear-wheel-drive application for Mustang.

Tags: featured