Ford to Move F-650/F-750 Production to Ohio - Analyst Blog

Ford Motor Co. F is planning to shift the manufacturing of the new 2016 F-650 and F-750 trucks from Mexico to its Ohio Assembly plant in early 2015. The move is part of the automaker's 2011 agreement with the United Auto Workers. The medium-duty trucks will be available in the market from spring 2015.

Ford will retool the Ohio plant for this transition. This will require an outlay of $168 million. The roughly 40-year old plant currently produces Ford's E-Series van, wagon and cutaways, along with Ambulance, motor home and stripped chassis.

Ford will stop the production of E-Series cargo and passenger vans at the plant by the end of this year. However, it will continue building the E-Series cutaway vans and stripped chassis at the plant almost till 2020.

The company is planning to replace the E-Series vans with the new 2015 Ford Transit, which will be manufactured at the Kansas City Assembly Plant from spring this year.

The 2016 F-650 and F-750 trucks are the strongest medium-duty trucks offered by Ford. These trucks also feature the second-generation 6.7-liter Power Stroke V8 turbo diesel engine along with commercial-grade six-speed 6R140 automatic transmission with available power takeoff provision. Ford's F-650 and F-750 trucks come with gasoline engines, which are not available in medium-duty trucks manufactured by other automakers.

The F-650 and F-750 trucks also feature new interior and exterior styling. They also have a new steering wheel featuring advanced controls and automatic five-blink turn signals. Ford has also added an anti-roll bar and longer leaf springs to the frame and suspension to improve roll control and provide an enhanced riding experience.

Ford is planning to revamp all the trucks and vans in the Ford Commercial Truck lineup in the next 18 months. The automaker has massive expansion plans for 2014 as it intends to launch 23 new models during the year. Ford recently unveiled the remodeled 2015 Focus – with a novel design and advanced technology – at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Ford currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some other automobile stocks worth considering are Tata Motors Limited TTM, Daimler AG (DDAIF) and Tesla Motors, Inc. TSLA. Tata Motors and Daimler sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while Tesla carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).