Back in April, one Ford EV partner – cathode material company EcoPro – announced that it was postponing a planned $87 million investment in EcoCAM Canada, a joint-venture that was aiming to open a cathode plant in that country by 2026, which is now expected to open one year later, in 2027. Now, amid a general global slowdown in terms of expected growth in demand for all-electric vehicles, the construction of that same cathode plant has been temporarily put on ice yet again.
According to Lapresse, construction at the cathode plant has been paused for the past two weeks for a couple of reasons. “This temporary break is necessary to solve technical problems requiring redesign,” EcoPro said in a statement. The company also cited “fluctuations in demand for electric vehicles” and “battery preferences” as reasons behind this delay. The joint-venture also noted that its entities – including Ford, EcoPro, and SK On – want to ensure that the plant will lead to “profitability and long-term sustainability.”
Regardless, EcoPro noted that it wants to complete construction of the new cathode plant “as soon as possible. “We remain confident in Quebec’s potential as a cathode manufacturing center, supported by its own energy, skilled workforce and the strong support of the federal and Quebec governments,” it stated.
Meanwhile, Ford has shifted gears in a big way to respond to slowing demand growth for EVs, delaying the launch of a pair of future models – including a three-row SUV for North America, instead opting to produce the Ford Super Duty at the Oakville Assembly plant, which was previously slated to build that new EV. Meanwhile, the automaker is instead focusing on developing smaller, cheaper EVs amid continued concerns over pricing disparities.
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Ford just scaled back production there amid weak demand.
For a fairly simple reason.
