mobile-menu-icon
Ford Authority

Ford Will Work With LG, Not SK For Battery Plant In Turkey

Ford is in the midst of investing $50 billion over the next few years as it aims to produce 600k EVs globally this year and two million by 2026 – an effort that involves launching multiple new models and leaning on a variety of suppliers to secure the raw materials it needs. The automaker is also looking at erecting new battery plants across the globe with various partners – not just its new joint-venture counterpart SK On, which is also investing billions in its own expansion. As Ford Authority reported earlier today, however, SK looks poised to pull out of its planned joint-venture with Ford and Koc Holdings to build a new battery plant in Turkey, but according to Bloomberg, The Blue Oval will instead work with LG Energy Solution on that particular project.

SK On signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Ford and Koc Holdings last March with the intentions of forming a joint venture that would produce commercial vehicle batteries in Turkey. However, the company is now saying that it has yet to make a final decision on that particular endeavor, and another source is reporting that SK has already decided to forego the project due to macroeconomic concerns.

Now, Ford will apparently turn to LG instead, and the two companies reportedly plan to sign a memorandum of understanding within the coming weeks. Regardless, Ford will continue to work with SK to built a pair of battery plants in the U.S. while also expanding production at an existing plant in Hungary.

The proposed commercial vehicle battery plant in Turkey – which is slated to be built in Ankara – will become one of the largest such facilities in the European wider region if it indeed does come to fruition, manufacturing high Nickel NMC cells for assembly into battery array modules. Production is expected to begin as early as 2025 with an annual capacity likely to be in the range of 30 to 45 Gigawatt hours.

We’ll have more on this new plant soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for continuous Ford news coverage.

Brett's lost track of all the Fords he's owned over the years and how much he's spent modifying them, but his current money pits include an S550 Mustang and 13th gen F-150.

Subscribe to Ford Authority

For around-the-clock Ford news coverage

We'll send you one email per day with the latest Ford updates. It's totally free.

Comments

Leave a comment

Cancel