Only a few months after asserting a “radical” cut up construction inserting its electrical car future in a brand new phase known as Mannequin E, Ford is discussing extra particulars about sourcing battery manufacturing capability and the essential uncooked supplies to energy all of these EVs. Its run charge by late 2023 might want to help the manufacturing of 270,000 Mustang Mach-Es, 150,000 Transit EVs, 150,000 F-150 Lightnings, and 30,000 items of a thriller all-new mid-size SUV destined for launch in Europe.
What it didn’t point out, nevertheless, 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 phase that’s now answerable for its legacy inside combustion engine-powered companies.
One a part of the plan revealed immediately consists of 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 Up to date Amperex Expertise (CATL) for the Mach-E in 2023, and the F-150 Lightning in 2024.
Ford says these shall be accessible 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 “practically half of Tesla autos produced in Q1 had been geared up with a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery, containing no nickel or cobalt,” together with most traditional vary autos. Ford will take the identical strategy by utilizing 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 automobiles and vehicles yearly by “late 2023,” with the brand new packs, in addition to doubled capability at LG Vitality Answer’s Wroclaw, Poland manufacturing facility and extra cell manufacturing capability from SK On.
Trying 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 large CATL to “discover a cooperation” for constructing batteries throughout China, Europe, and North America. That’s along with beforehand introduced battery vegetation in Kentucky and Tennessee, in addition to agreements with mining corporations to straight supply vital uncooked supplies, together with “a lot of the nickel wanted by way of 2026 and past.”