Between May 2021 and March 2022, Ford decided to invest an additional $20 billion into EVs through 2026, bringing the Blue Oval's total to $50 billion. Ford's big EV spending spree is just beginning, with the automaker announcing today that it plans to produce 600,000 EVs by the end of 2023. Ford hopes to increase that number to two million by the end of 2026.
The automaker plans to achieve those production figures through a series of new initiatives to help the company secure the battery capacity for those vehicles. The automaker has secured 100 percent of the annual battery cell capacity needed for 600,000 EVs and about 70 percent of the capacity required to reach its two-million EV production goal.
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Ford plans to produce 270,000 Mustang Mach-E crossovers, 150,000 F-150 Lightning pickups, 150,000 Transit EV vans, and 30,000 examples of an all-new, undisclosed midsize SUV for the European market by the end of next year. Production for the new SUV will "significantly ramp in 2024," according to Ford.
Ford is adding lithium iron phosphate battery packs to its repertoire to produce these vehicles, sourcing them from the Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. This will join the nickel cobalt manganese battery packs the company already uses. The LiFePO battery pack will begin finding its way into the North American Mach-E next year, with the Lightning starting to get them in early 2024.
The automaker also plans to leverage its relationship with LG Energy Solutions and SK On to achieve its 2023 production goal. SK On has increased capacity to support scaling Lighting and E-Transit production through late 2023.
Achieving its goal of two million EVs produced by the end of 2026 will require Ford to get creative. The company says it is working with major mining companies to help the automaker secure the raw materials it needs for the batteries. The automaker also announced that it secured "key lithium contracts," too.
Ford's announcement about its electrified future arrives a day after a report alleged that the company is preparing to cut 8,000 jobs by the end of summer. Ford's salaried workforce is allegedly facing the brunt of the cuts, but nothing has been finalized. The automaker's Ford+ plan enacted by CEO Jim Farley called for cutting up to $3 billion in costs by 2026. His strategy also split Ford into two distinct parts – Model E for EVs and Blue for ICE vehicles.
