Only a few months after asserting a “radical” cut up construction putting its electrical car future in a brand new section known as Mannequin E, Ford is discussing extra particulars about sourcing battery manufacturing capability and the fundamental uncooked supplies to energy all of these EVs. Its run charge by late 2023 might want to assist the manufacturing of 270,000 Mustang Mach-Es, 150,000 Transit EVs, 150,000 F-150 Lightnings, and 30,000 models of a thriller all-new mid-size SUV destined for launch in Europe.
What it didn’t point out, nonetheless, is a report from Bloomberg on Wednesday indicating that the corporate is planning to put off as many as 8,000 folks from the Ford Blue section that’s now chargeable for its legacy inside combustion engine-powered companies.
One a part of the plan revealed at the moment contains updates for the batteries used within the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning EVs. It’s including lithium iron phosphate batteries (LFP) made by Modern Amperex Know-how (CATL) for the Mach-E in 2023, and the F-150 Lightning in 2024.
Ford says these will probably be obtainable alongside batteries with the prevailing nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) chemistry, which is an analogous strategy to Tesla. In Tesla’s Q1 earnings report earlier this yr, the corporate stated “almost half of Tesla automobiles produced in Q1 have been geared up with a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery, containing no nickel or cobalt,” together with most traditional vary automobiles. Ford will take the identical strategy through the use of them for standard-range battery packs, enjoying to the strengths of the LFP batteries which are usually cheaper however aren’t as vitality dense.
Ford now says it has one hundred pc of the battery cell manufacturing capability wanted to construct 600,000 electrical vehicles and vans yearly by “late 2023,” with the brand new packs, in addition to doubled capability at LG Vitality Resolution’s Wroclaw, Poland manufacturing facility and extra cell manufacturing capability from SK On.
Wanting additional down the street to its goal of constructing 2 million EVs globally by later 2026, Ford introduced a separate non-binding MOU with battery big CATL to “discover a cooperation” for constructing batteries throughout China, Europe, and North America. That’s along with beforehand introduced battery crops in Kentucky and Tennessee, in addition to agreements with mining firms to instantly supply crucial uncooked supplies, together with “a lot of the nickel wanted by means of 2026 and past.”