Ford’s Latest Electrification Update, Ramping Up Its Battery Supply Strategy

Amidst its many electrification strategies that are in the works, Ford has recently announced another step forward in said area.

The move points out that Ford has secured 60 GWh of battery supply, which will support a major production ramp-up for its EVs by the end of next year.

Specifically, Ford targets an annual production run of 600,000 EVs by late 2023 and more than 2 million by the end of 2026.

On top of that, the company also confirmed a shift to utilize lithium iron-phosphate (LFP) battery cells to help achieve the goal.

Production run of the 600,000 EVs will be spread out between Ford’s 2023 models:

• 270,000 Mustang Mach-Es for North America, Europe and China
• 150,000 F-150 Lightnings for North America
• 150,000 Transit EVs for North America and Europe
• 30,000 units of an all-new SUV for Europe

Then, as aforementioned, to help achieve this is the LFP battery cells utilization, which will be used alongside Ford’s existing nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) cells.

According to the company, this opens up better chances for high-demand products, and provides customers many years of operation with minimal range loss. 

Plus, it also reduces the reliance on scarce critical minerals such as nickel and, at current costs, brings a 10 to 15 percent bill of material savings for Ford versus NCM batteries.

Notably, the first LFP cells will be installed into Ford’s Mustang Mach-E next year, and in the F-150 Lightning in 2024.

To supply the LFP cells, Ford will collaborate with the company Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. (CATL).

Although all the LFP cell production is currently manufactured in China, Ford has stated that it plans to move and use 40 GWh of LFP capacity in North America starting in 2026.

Along with that, Ford has also announced other workings with mining companies to secure the battery resources. 

For example, companies like Vale Canada, PT Vale Indonesia, Huayou Cobalt, BHP, Liontown Resources and Rio Tinto.

That said, this move by Ford seems to be a very promising prospect to propel the company ahead of the rest, as many automakers out there are also avidly electrifying their brands.