Ford accelerates on electrification. The US automaker announced a deal with battery supplier SK Innovation investing more than $ 11.4 billion in new plants to produce electric vehicles and batteries, creating nearly 11,000 jobs.
In detail, Ford will build two twin lithium-ion battery plants in central Kentucky through a joint venture with SK called BlueOvalSK, while creating a 3,600-acre campus in western Tennessee. The campus will include another SK-built battery plant along with a supplier fleet, a recycling center, and a new F-Series electric truck assembly plant, Ford CEO Jim Farley told CNBC. At the same time as these very important announcements, the automaker said it had invested $ 90 million in Texas alone as part of a total investment of $ 525 million in the United States over the next five years to prepare the workforce for changes in the industry. automotive industry. The projects are Ford’s latest to increase the development and production of electric vehicles – including batteries – under the leadership of Farley, who began leading the automaker a year ago.