Ford is determined to bolster its electric vehicle game and has now confirmed plans of investing around $3.5 billion into a new battery-manufacturing facility in Michigan. The US auto giant is going to partner China-based Amperex Technology for the upcoming facility which will be located in Marshall.
Ford has said that it expects the facility to be operational by 2026 and that it will employ around 2,500 personnel here. The plant will manufacture new lithium iron phosphate batteries which would be more affordable to the nickel cobalt manganese batteries that the company makes use of at present.
This is what would particularly give a boost to Ford’s ambitions as it looks to ramp up EV manufacturing while bringing down battery costs. The overriding objective is to make EVs more affordable to the end buyer in order to increase demand further. Ford CEO Jim Farley has time and again underlined the need to bring down battery costs and has expressed confidence that this won’t be a major factor in the times to come.
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At present, there are federal tax incentives in the US of up to $7,500 (approximately ₹6.15 lakh) on EVs assembled in North America. Ford officials say that once the Michigan plant is operational, the company’s vehicles would be eligible for around half of that incentives’ amount.
Ford currently offers fully-electric models like Mach-E and F-150 Lightning pick up truck, apart from hybrids. The company is looking to increase its share in the US EV market, one that is dominated by Tesla and where competition is hotting up big time from rivals like GM, Hyundai and Kia.
First Published Date: 19 Jun 2023, 09:51 AM IST