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Thursday, November 12, 2026Nov 12

Ford changed direction on plans for its West Tennessee plant. What happens now?

The Tennessee Electric Vehicle Center at Ford’s BlueOval City in Stanton, Tenn., pictured in June 2025, has been renamed “Tennessee Truck Center” after the company announced it would manufacture gas-powered vehicles in the facility instead. (Cassandra Stephenson/Tennessee Lookout file)
The Tennessee Electric Vehicle Center at Ford’s BlueOval City in Stanton, Tenn., pictured in June 2025, has been renamed “Tennessee Truck Center” after the company announced it would manufacture gas-powered vehicles in the facility instead. (Cassandra Stephenson/Tennessee Lookout file) The Tennessee Electric Vehicle Center at Ford’s BlueOval City in Stanton, Tenn., pictured in June 2025, has been renamed “Tennessee Truck Center” after the company announced it would manufacture gas-powered vehicles in the facility instead. (Cassandra Stephenson/Tennessee Lookout file)

Plans for Ford Motor Co.’s massive West Tennessee campus have changed significantly since the automaker announced its $5.6 billion investment in a manufacturing hub meant to produce next-generation electric pickup trucks and batteries in 2021.

Four years and a few production delays later, Ford jettisoned the electric idea in favor of building gas-powered models. The business case for EV manufacturing eroded due to “lower-than-expected demand, high costs and regulatory changes,” the company stated in December.

But Ford still intends to honor its commitments to the state, according to a company spokesperson, including promises to create roughly 5,800 jobs at the BlueOval City site in exchange for a $900 million state-sponsored incentives package.

Here’s what to know.

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