Here’s How To Tell If Your Ford EV Has An LFP Battery: Video

August 26, 2024 11:21 am

Ford Mustang Mach-E Premium Mexico - Exterior 001 - Front Three Quarters

In recent months, much ado has been made about lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) batteries and the unique benefits they offer over more traditional lithium-ion units, as they don’t use nickel or cobalt in their construction and are generally cheaper, safer, and can be charged to 100 percent without worrying about speeding up battery degradation, though they’re also not as energy dense as lithium-ion batteries. As a result, we’re starting to see LFP batteries utilized in some Ford EV models.

As Ford Authority previously reported, The Blue Oval began using an LFP battery in standard range Ford Mustang Mach-E models beginning with the 2023 model year, and those same units are expected to make their way to other future Ford EV models at some point as well. In this recent video from Jason Fenske of the Engineering Explained YouTube channel, we’re treated to some pretty interesting information about LFP batteries in general, as well as how to tell if a vehicle is equipped with one or not.

As Fenske points out, it’s pretty easy to tell if one’s Ford EV is equipped with an LFP battery, as that information is outlined in the owner’s manual. There, Ford notes that if the eighth digit in a vehicle’s VIN is a 4 or 5, it indicates that the vehicle is indeed equipped with an LFP battery. If the VIN contains any other digit or number, it’s equipped with a nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) battery pack.

Ford previously noted that it plans to offer LFP battery packs in its standard range EVs into the next decade, though the standard range Mach-E is currently the only one that is available with that type of unit. The Ford F-150 Lightning has long been expected to add an LFP option at some point, though that hasn’t happened yet, while those units won’t be present in the E-Transit – at least for now. Regardless, Ford will begin producing its own LFP battery packs using technology licensed from CATL when the joint-venture BlueOval Battery Park Michigan opens up in 2026.

We’ll have more on LFP batteries soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for non-stop Ford news coverage.

By Brett Foote

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.