Ford accelerates self-production of battery cells

In order to ensure the stability of battery supply, OEMs are accelerating the pace of self-produced batteries. Foreign media reported that Ford announced the establishment of a new global battery development center dedicated to battery technology research and development and battery manufacturing. The Ru0026D center will invest US$185 million (approximately RMB 1.2 billion) and is expected to be put into use in the second half of next year. At the same time, a technical team of 150 people will be formed to help Ford develop and manufacture faster Battery. 'We are modernizing Ford's battery development and manufacturing capabilities so that we can better control internal costs and production variables, and expand production scale quickly and with high quality on a global scale.' Chief Product Platform and Operations Officer, Ford HauThai-Tang said. Currently, Ford Motor is accelerating its electrification transformation and announced that it will invest at least US$22 billion (approximately RMB 142.7 billion) in the development of new energy vehicles by 2025, and achieve full electrification by 2030. In this case, ensuring the stability of battery supply has become the key to Ford's electrification transformation. The start of the battery self-production plan is also to prevent a crisis of battery supply shortage in the later stage. Ford Motor Chief Executive Jim Farley recently stated that the United States must start manufacturing batteries for the upcoming wave of electric vehicles to prevent supply disruptions, such as the current shortage of semiconductors leading to the closure of US auto plants. Recently, LG Energy and SKI reached a settlement on trade secrets. SKI agreed to pay about 2 trillion won (about 11.7 billion yuan) in compensation in exchange for its ability to continue to develop its power lithium battery business in the United States, and to continue to provide Ford and Volkswagen and other OEMs supply power lithium batteries. Although SKI can continue to advance its battery business in the United States, Ford is aware of the battery supply crisis it is currently facing, and then guarantees the supply of its self-produced batteries. It is worth noting that in addition to Ford, OEMs including General Motors, Tesla, Volkswagen, BMW, Hyundai, and Porsche are also accelerating the pace of self-produced batteries through self-built or joint ventures to ensure stable battery supply. . The entry of the above-mentioned OEMs into the battery manufacturing army may have a significant impact on the global competitive landscape of the power lithium battery market and intensify industry competition.