Ford and partner company announce plans to build three major electric vehicle battery factories and an automotive assembly plant by 2025

GLENDALE, Ky. (AP) – Ford and a partner company have announced plans to build three major electric vehicle battery plants and an automotive assembly plant by 2025 – a significant investment in the future of automotive technology. electric vehicles that will create around 10,800 jobs and shift the automaker’s future manufacturing footprint south.

The factories, which will be built at sites in Kentucky and Tennessee, will manufacture batteries for the next generation of Ford and Lincoln electric vehicles to be produced in North America. Together, they represent the largest manufacturing investment ever made by a 118-year-old company and are among the largest factory expenditures in the world.

Notably, the new factories will provide a vast new supply of jobs that will likely pay solid wages. Most of the new jobs will be full-time, with a relatively small percentage having a temporary status to fill for vacations and absent workers.

Together with its battery partner, SK Innovation of South Korea, Ford has announced that it will spend $ 5.6 billion in rural Stanton, Tennessee, where it will build a factory to produce electric pickup trucks from Series F. A joint venture called BlueOvalSK will build a battery plant at the same site near Memphis, as well as twin battery plants in Glendale, Ky., near Louisville. Ford estimated Kentucky’s investment at $ 5.8 billion and said its share of the total would be $ 7 billion.

With the new spending, Ford is making a big bet on a future that sees most drivers eventually switching to battery power from internal combustion engines, which have powered vehicles in the United States for over a century. . If this transition were to cause interruptions or delays, the bet could affect the company’s bottom line. Ford predicts that 40-50% of its sales in the United States will be electric by 2030. At present, only about 1% of vehicles on American roads are powered by electricity.

This Monday, September 27, 2021, the photo shows a 1,551-acre field that will become the site of a joint venture with Ford Motor Company and SK Innovation to create the $ 5.8 billion BlueOvalSK Battery Park in Glendale, SK. Kentucky. is intended to supply Ford’s North American assembly plants with locally assembled batteries. (AP Photo / Timothy D. Easley)

A 1,551-acre field, seen on Monday, September 27, 2021, will become the site of a joint venture with Ford Motor Company and SK Innovation to create the $ 5.8 billion BlueOvalSK Battery Park in Glendale, Ky. dedicated battery manufacturing facility will create 5,000 jobs and aims to supply Ford’s North American assembly plants with locally assembled batteries. (AP Photo / Timothy D. Easley)

A sign welcomes visitors to the small town of Glendale, Ky., The site of a joint venture with Ford Motor Company and SK Innovation to create the $ 5.8 billion BlueOvalSK Battery Park in Glendale, Ky., On Monday 27 September 2021. The Battery Manufacturing Complex will create 5,000 jobs and is intended to supply Ford’s North American assembly plants with locally assembled batteries. (AP Photo / Timothy D. Easley)