Ford accelerates transition to electric with landmark investment
(Washington) Ford gave a strong impetus to its electric transition by announcing Monday the creation of four factories in the United States with its South Korean partner SK innovation, representing an investment of 11.4 billion dollars with the key 11,000 jobs by 2025.
The American automaker said two battery factories would be located in Kentucky, in the central United States. A third battery plant will be built in western Tennessee, along with a new vehicle plant that is expected to start producing F-Series electric vehicles by 2025.
Ford will invest a total of $ 7 billion which is part of the 30 billion already announced earlier this year. SK Innovation will pay the remainder.
This is the largest investment ever made in Ford’s 118-year history in new manufacturing plants, Ford said.
This investment supports “the company’s longer-term goal of creating a sustainable American manufacturing ecosystem and accelerating its progress toward carbon neutrality. […] in accordance with the Paris climate agreement ”.
Ford has also revised upwards its electric fleet objectives since it now expects 40 to 50% of its global sales volume to be entirely electric by 2030 against 40% still estimated in the spring. .
“This is a time of transformation where Ford will lead America’s transition to electric vehicles and usher in a new era of clean, carbon-neutral manufacturing,” Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford said in the statement. .
On a patriotic tone, he estimated that, combined with “a spirit of innovation”, the group will reconcile what was once considered incompatible: protect the planet, build “superb electric vehicles that Americans will love” while contributing to the prosperity of the United States.
The news comes amid strong demand for the new F-150 Lightning pickup truck and other electric models like the Ford Group’s E-Transit and Mustang Mach-E.
Like its compatriot GM, the manufacturer is also striving to catch up with the Tesla group, a forerunner in this niche.
“Good jobs”
Under the pressure of public opinion, customers and investors increasingly sensitive to the environmental issue, many manufacturers have started a turn towards the electrification of vehicles in order to reduce polluting emissions.
But until recently, the shift to electric was not so marked.
Jim Farley, chief executive of Ford, underlined the stake: “to provide revolutionary electric vehicles for the greatest number rather than for a few”, alluding to the fact that electric vehicles like those of Tesla remain expensive and thus inaccessible to the middle class families.
Mr. Farley notes at the same time that it is a question of creating “good jobs that support American families”, thus taking up a theme dear to the American president.
Joe Biden has made the shift to a greener automobile a priority.
Ford’s announcement will give a boost to Democrats who are pushing through Congress this week for their massive infrastructure investment plan of some $ 1 trillion.
They want to take measures in favor of the environment and insist that this could create millions of jobs for the future.
In the initial project, the infrastructure plan provided for the construction of a national network of 500,000 charging stations by 2030 and the switch to electricity for 20% of the famous yellow school bus buses.
