Ford Touts EVs For The Masses With $11.4bn For New Factories
New ‘mega campus’ in Tennessee and battery plants Kentucky will bring electric cars to the masses, not just the few, Ford claims
Car maker Ford has announced a significant investment as it plans a major investment in electric vehicle (EV) production in the United States.
Ford announced that it, and its South Korean battery partner SK Innovation, will invest $11.4 billion to build an “environmentally and technologically advanced” mega campus in Tennessee, as well as two twin battery plants located in Kentucky.
Ford has been investing in EVs for a while now. In 2015 it said it was planning to increase its investment in electric and hybrid vehicles by $4.5 billion over the next five years.
But more recently Ford announced a plan to spend more than $30 billion through 2030 on electrification.
Mega campuses
Ford’s ‘mega campus’ in Tennessee is to be called ‘Blue Oval City’, and “the complex will be constructed on a nearly 6-square-mile site in west Tennessee and build next-generation electric F-Series pickups and advanced batteries.”
Ford’s Tennessee assembly plant is designed to be carbon neutral with zero waste to landfill once fully operational.
Meanwhile in Kentucky, Ford said that a new “BlueOvalSK Battery Park is to be built in central Kentucky consisting of twin battery plants that will power a new lineup of Ford and Lincoln EVs.”
To deliver this, Ford and SK Innovation plan to invest $11.4 billion (Ford will contribute $7 billion, SK will cover the rest).
This investment will also create nearly 11,000 new jobs.
This translates to nearly 6,000 jobs in Stanton, Tennessee, and 5,000 in Glendale, Kentucky.
Ford said production of the new electric vehicles and advanced lithium-ion batteries will begin in 2025.
The three new BlueOvalSK battery plants will enable 129 gigawatt hours a year of US production capacity for Ford.
Biggest investment
“This is our moment – our biggest investment ever – to help build a better future for America,” said Jim Farley, Ford president and CEO.
“We are moving now to deliver breakthrough electric vehicles for the many rather than the few,” said Farley. “It’s about creating good jobs that support American families, an ultra-efficient, carbon-neutral manufacturing system, and a growing business that delivers value for communities, dealers and shareholders.”
Ford said on Monday it now expects to have 40 to 50 percent of its global vehicle volume to be all-electric by 2030, up from its prior forecast of 40 percent.
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