- Title: Ford and SK Innovation to invest $11.4 billion in EV development.
- Date: 28th September 2021
- Summary: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (FILE) (REUTERS) (MUTE) STILL PHOTO SHOWING LOGO OF SK INNOVATION IS SEEN IN FRONT OF ITS HEADQUARTERS IN SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
- Embargoed: 12th October 2021 01:45
- Keywords: Ford Motor Co. SK Innovation batteries electric car production electric cars electric vehicles
- Location: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA / UNKNOWN LOCATION / DEARBORN, MICHIGAN, UNITED STATES
- City: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA / UNKNOWN LOCATION / DEARBORN, MICHIGAN, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Company News Markets,Economic Events,United States
- Reuters ID: LVA001EWMVXAF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Ford Motor Co. and its Korean battery partner SK Innovation will invest 11.4 billion dollars to build an electric F-150 assembly plant and three battery plants in the United States, accelerating the U.S. automaker's push into electric vehicles.
Ford said on Monday (September 27) it now expects to have 40 percent to 50 percent of its global vehicle volume to be all-electric by 2030, up from its prior forecast of 40 percent.
The companies intend to create nearly 11,000 jobs by opening assembly and battery plants in Stanton, Tennessee, and two additional battery factories in Glendale, Kentucky, as part of Ford's previously announced plan to spend more than 30 billion dollars through 2030 on electrification, Ford said. Plants on both sites will open in 2025.
Monday's announcement is the single largest manufacturing investment in Ford's 118-year history.
The Tennessee assembly and battery complex will be about three times the size of Ford's sprawling, century-old Rouge manufacturing complex in Dearborn, Michigan, Ford North American Chief Operating Officer Lisa Drake told Reuters in an interview. She emphasized there will be room to expand on that site.
"For us, this is a very transformative point where we are putting our capital in place now in a very big way to lead the transition to EVs," Drake said.
The No.2 U.S. carmaker's portion of the investment is 7 billion dollars, with SK covering the rest. The companies will invest 5.8 billion dollars in Kentucky, and 5.6 billion dollars in Tennessee.
The South Korean battery maker, which supplies electric car batteries to Ford Motor and Hyundai Motor Co among others, has battery production sites in the United States, Hungary, China and South Korea.
Ford and other automakers are pushing hard to prepare for the rollout of EVs as countries and regions such as China and Europe seek greater reduction of vehicle emissions.
The planned lithium-ion battery plants build on a memorandum of understanding announced by Ford and SK in May. The battery plants will be jointly owned with SK and have a combined annual capacity of 129 GWh of batteries, which could power about 2.2 million EVs when fully operational, more than double the level outlined in May, Drake said. The new capacity would be enough to power more than 1 million EVs.
Ford previously said its global EV plan calls for at least 240 GWh of battery cell capacity by 2030, equal to about 10 plants that will be placed in North America, Europe and China. SK has said it aims to ramp up annual global battery capacity to more than 200 GWh in 2025.
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