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September 29, 2021

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Ford aims to lead US in electric cars

Source: AFP | 00:00 UTC+8 September 29, 2021 | Print Edition

US car manufacturer Ford said Monday it plans to invest US$11.4 billion in electric vehicle production, in a bid to position itself to lead the United States’ shift away from climate-damaging fossil fuels.

The company said it will build four new plants to produce electric vehicles and batteries that will create 11,000 new jobs by 2025.

Together with its South Korean partner SK Innovation, Ford will build the factories in Kentucky and Tennessee, the automaker said in a statement. Ford will invest US$7 billion, part of a US$30 billion investment already announced last spring, and SK Innovation will put up the remainder.

Ford said it would be the “largest, most advanced, most efficient auto production complex in its 118-year history” and would place the company at the forefront of the country’s shift to electric vehicles.

The statement said: “This investment supports the company’s longer-term goal to create a sustainable American manufacturing ecosystem, and to accelerate its progress towards achieving carbon neutrality, backed by science-based targets in line with the Paris Climate Agreement.”

The company expects between 40 and 50 percent of its global vehicles to be fully electric by 2030. “This is a transformative moment where Ford will lead America’s transition to electric vehicles and usher in a new era of clean, carbon-neutral manufacturing,” Executive Chair Bill Ford said.

“With this investment and a spirit of innovation, we can achieve goals once thought mutually exclusive — protect our planet, build great electric vehicles Americans will love and contribute to our nation’s prosperity,” he added.

The announcement came amid strong demand for the company’s new F-150 Lightning pickup vehicle and other electric models such as the E-Transit and the Mustang Mach-E.

Like its competitor GM, the manufacturer is striving to catch up with Tesla, the main pioneer of electric cars.

Ford, which revolutionized automated car production a century ago, said its rollout would be “the largest ever US investment in electric vehicles at one time by any automotive manufacturer.”

Under mounting pressure from public opinion, and with customers and investors increasingly sensitive to environmental concerns, many car manufacturers have started to turn towards electric vehicles.

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