Ford Motor Company is scaling back one of its EV battery plants under construction in Michigan. The company, despite being one of the biggest automakers in the United States, is continuing to lose billions of dollars in its electric vehicle manufacturing.
The company announced on Tuesday that it would continue its project in Michigan. However, it would reduce its scope by more than 40%. Apart from that, the projected number of jobs that the plant would create will increase by 30%.
In recent times, Ford has struggled to make a profit from its continuing shift to electric vehicles. This is because Ford has faced a decline in sales due to higher costs of electric vehicles. However, Ford is still confident of the viability of electric vehicles in the future.
Ford added –
“While we remain bullish on our long-term strategy for electric vehicles, we are re-timing and resizing some investments. As stated previously, we have been evaluating BlueOval Battery Park, Michigan, in Marshall. […] We are pleased to confirm we are moving ahead with the Marshall project, consistent with the Ford+ plan for growth and value creation.” (source)
The company said in another statement that it is considering rightsizing its operations on EVs. This is because they want to balance investment, profitability, and growth. It also added that the company will create more than 1.7K jobs in the United States. The plan is to produce a planned capacity of approximately 20 GWh.
Ford commented that it still expects the facility to be the company’s first battery plant of its kind. The plant will start its operations in 2026, when its construction will end. Once the plant becomes operational, it will start manufacturing lithium iron phosphate batteries that are common in Electric Vehicles.
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