As Ford Authority reported last week, BlueOval SK – a joint-venture between Ford and South Korean battery manufacturer SK On – announced that commercial production at the new BlueOval SK Battery Park plant is officially underway, as the very first battery built there just rolled off the assembly line. That batteries will be used in the Ford F-150 Lightning, but the very same plant will also be building batteries for other models as well – including the Ford E-Transit.
BlueOval SK has confirmed that it will be producing Ford E-Transit batteries at its “Kentucky 1” plant at BlueOval SK Battery Park, adding yet another model to that site’s resume. The joint-venture plans on producing batteries for other models in the future, depending on consumer demand for such products, but it hasn’t revealed which those might be. Due to a general slowdown in demand for EVs, a recent report claimed that Ford rival Nissan will utilize part of the BlueOval SK Battery Park site to build batteries for its own EVs starting in 2028 as well, though none of the parties involved confirmed this report when asked to comment on the matter at that time.
Ford CEO Jim Farley also recently stated that the company is “looking to repurpose our unused battery plant assets,” which is notable given the fact that it will in fact have unused space in the BlueOval SK Battery Park site after downsizing its previous plans. Ford could opt to build batteries for energy storage purposes there as well, as Farley recently hinted previously.
As for when we can expect to see all-new, next-generation versions of the F-150 Lightning and E-Transit, both were recently pushed back to 2028, as Ford Authority reported earlier this month. Originally, the new full-size Ford EV pickup – codenamed Project T3 – was expected to enter production this year, but it has since been pushed back to 2026, 2027, and now, 2028. As for the new full-size Ford EV van, it was previously slated to enter production in 2026, and was reportedly “on track” to meet that date, previously.
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The brand improved its score, but still ranks below the segment average.
It was the automaker's sixth-largest market last year.
An off-road-ready killer rather than sleek and styled.
The perfect way to get to know the high-performance machine.
