Ford Releases New Battery Capacity Plan Amid Ambitious Global Production Goals

Building on strong demand for its new EVs, Ford recently announced several initiatives for sourcing battery capacity and raw materials that enable its targeted annual run rate of 600,000 electric vehicles by late 2023 and more than 2 million by the end of 2026.

The company detailed its global vehicle portfolio plans supporting these production goals as part of its Ford+ plan. Ford expects a compound annual growth rate for EVs to exceed 90% through 2026 — more than double forecasted global industry growth.

“Ford’s new electric vehicle lineup has generated huge enthusiasm and demand, and now we are putting the industrial system in place to scale quickly,” said Jim Farley, Ford’s president and CEO and president of Ford Model e. “Our Model e team has moved with speed, focus and creativity to secure the battery capacity and raw materials we need to deliver breakthrough EVs for millions of customers.” 

Ford plans to invest over $50 billion in EVs through 2026, targeting total company adjusted EBIT margins of 10% and 8% EBIT margins for EVs by 2026.

As Ford creates a new EV supply chain that upholds its commitments to sustainability and human rights, the company continues to plan for more than half its global production to be EVs by 2030 and to achieve carbon neutrality globally no later than 2050.

What 600,000 Ford EVs Looks Like

Ford plans to reach a 600,000 global EV run rate by late 2023 with the following models:

• 270,000 Mustang Mach-Es for North America, Europe, and China
• 150,000 F-150 Lightnings for North America
• 150,000 Transit EVs for North America and Europe
• 30,000 units of an all-new SUV for Europe, whose run rate will significantly ramp in 2024

Ford is adding lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cell chemistry to its portfolio, alongside its existing nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) chemistry. This creates even more capacity for high-demand products and provides customers many years of operation with minimal range loss. It also reduces the reliance on scarce critical minerals such as nickel and, at current costs, brings a 10 to 15% bill of material savings for Ford versus NCM batteries.

The company confirmed it has secured 100% of the annual battery cell capacity needed – 60 gigawatt hours (GWh) – to support this 600,000 EV run rate by working with leading battery companies around the globe. 

Ford announced that Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. (CATL) will provide full LFP battery packs for Mustang Mach-E models for North America starting next year as well as F-150 Lightnings in early 2024. Ford’s EV architecture flexibility allows efficient incorporation of CATL’s prismatic LFP cell-to-pack technology, delivering incremental capacity quickly to scale and meet customer demand.

Ford also is leveraging its long-standing connection with LG Energy Solution (LGES) and its strategic relationship with SK On to meet its battery capacity target for late 2023.

Long-time supplier LGES has scaled quickly and doubled its capacity at its Wroclaw, Poland, facility to support incremental NCM cell production for Mustang Mach-E and E-Transit models.

Plus, SK On has installed capacity to support the scaling of Ford’s high-volume F-150 Lightning and E-Transits through late 2023 – scaling NCM cell production beyond earlier-planned levels from its Atlanta facility and providing new battery cell capacity from its Hungary operation.

EV Demand

As Ford reimagines its EV supply chain, consumer praise for the Mustang Mach-e and other electric models is high for its first-generation EVs already in-market while demand signals among potential EV buyers continue strengthening.

For the first time, the majority of consumers who intend to buy a car in the next two years say they will choose an EV or hybrid vehicle – up 11% from last year and 22% from 2020, according to research published by EY. Most of that increase is for full EVs.

Among commercial owners who don’t already deploy EVs, 60% of U.S. fleet managers said in a Ford Pro survey they plan to add EVs to their operations within two years.

Market reaction to F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E is strong, bringing all-new customers to Ford. Mustang Mach-E shares the top spot in its segment for in-market vehicle shoppers’ favorable opinion, according to a Q1 Ford study, while F-150 Lightning’s favorable opinion was second only to the F-150 powered by an internal combustion engine.