Ford, SK Innovation to Invest $11.4 Billion on New Electric Vehicle Assembly Plant
- September 28, 2021
- Posted by: Quatro Strategies
- Category: Manufacturing
Ford Motor Company and South Korean battery manufacturer SK Innovation will invest $11.4 billion on a new assembly plant to build an electric F-150 model. The investment will also include three battery plants in the US to strengthen the automotive giant’s electric vehicle business.
Ford announced that it expects 40% to 50% of its vehicle volume will be electric by 2030. The previous forecast was announced at 40%.
The companies plan to employ 11,000 people in their three factories, two in Kentucky and one in Tennessee. Ford previously announced that it plans to spend $30 billion on electric vehicles by 2030. The three plants will be ready for production in 2025.
The announcement means it’s the largest manufacturing investment in Ford’s 118 year history. Ford’s portion in the investment will be $7 billion and SK will cover the remaining $4.4 billion. The two companies will invest $5.8 billion in Kentucky and $5.6 billion in Tennessee.
SK Innovation also supplies electric car batteries to Hyundai and others along with Ford. The company has manufacturing facilities in the US, Hungary, China and South Korea. With these additional investments, SK expects to exceed its goal of reaching an annual production of 200 GWh of batteries by 2025. The company’s current capacity is around 40 GWh.
Ford, along with other automakers, push for electrification as countries look for greater reduction of vehicle emissions.
Ford and SK signed a memorandum of understanding last May for the planned battery plants. The two companies will jointly own the factories, which will have an annual capacity of 129 GWh.
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