Magna invests $790 million to set up shop and supply Ford’s BlueOval City in Tennessee

One of the world’s largest automotive suppliers is investing big bucks to expand its footprint in North America – a market in which it’s already #1. Today, Tennessee’s Governor announced Magna International will invest nearly $800 million dollars to become the first supplier and Ford’s new BlueOval City.

Magna International is a globally recognized automotive contract manufacturer that currently reigns as the largest in North America and the fourth largest on the planet. Its success comes on the wings of 341 production and assembly facilities across North America, Europe, Asia, South America, and Africa, enabling $4.652 billion in gross profits for 2022 on its path to surpassing that number this year.

In the past twelve months, we’ve covered news of Magna committing nearly one billion dollars toward expansion of its North American operations, including $470 million in Canada, where it’s globally headquartered, in addition to another $500 million in Michigan, where its US headquarters sits.

You may not have necessarily heard of Magna, but you’ve most certainly driven a vehicle featuring some of the components it develops and produces for other OEMs. In North America, Magna supplies components to EVs like the GMC Hummer, the Rivian R1S, Cadillac Lyriq, and the ultra-popular Ford F-150 Lightning.

Under its latest investment in contract manufacturing, Magna is expanding its relationship with Ford Motor Company as the first supplier setting up shop at its forthcoming BlueOval City assembly campus outside of Memphis, Tennessee.

Magna to bring over 1K jobs Ford’s campus in Tennessee

Earlier today, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee and Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Stuart C. McWhorter announced Magna’s $790 million investment in the state, which will fund two new supplier facilities within Ford’s 4,100 acre BlueOval City campus.

The new Magna spaces will consist of an 800,000 square-foot frame and battery enclosure facility, which will operate alongside the manufacturer’s existing facility in Ontario, Canada which currently supplies said components for Ford’s F-150 Lightning pickups.

The battery enclosure plant will be joined by a 140,000 square-foot seating facility that will produce polyurethane foam and assemble and sequence complete just-in-time (JIT) seats. Magna states those planned plants will combine to create as many as 1,050 new jobs in Tennessee at Ford’s campus.

Outside of Stanton, TN where Ford is currently erecting its “assembly city,” Magna has committed to a third facility in Lawrenceburg – about 150 miles West between Nashville and Huntsville, Alabama. That location will be home to a new 400,000 square-foot stamping and assembly facility for vehicle frames, expected to create another 250 jobs in The Volunteer State. Magna’s chief sales and marketing officer Eric Wilds spoke to the expansion plans with Ford and the state of Tennessee:

These opportunities not only strengthen our relationship with a valued customer, but also reflect the depth and breadth of our capabilities across the vehicle. We are thankful to the state of Tennessee for their support and partnership.

Construction of all three Magna facilities is expected to commence in 2025 – that’s around the same time frame Ford has said it expects BlueOval City to begin operations.

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