Days after shutting shop in India, Ford announces biggest investment in US for EVs

Days after Ford announced that it is exiting the Indian market, the auto giant said that it will spend $11.4 billion along with South Korea’s SK Innovation Co to construct three battery factories and an assembly plant in Tennessee and Kentucky in what will be the biggest investment in the US for the company. Ford will spend $7 billion and SK will pump in $4.4 billion.

Ford will create two large sites for the production of electric vehicles and the batteries to power them. The companies will employ nearly 11,000 workers.

This project is part of Ford’s plan to invest $30 billion in electric vehicles by 2025. Chief Executive Officer Jim Farley who took on the reins a year ago has sped up efforts to switch to an all-electric future.

The Tennessee site will spread across 6 sq miles and will be three times the size of the Rouge Complex built by Henry Ford in Michigan a century ago. The site, Blue Oval City, will include a battery plant and an assembly plant to produce the electric version of Ford’s most profitable offering, the F-Series pickup. The plants will together employ nearly 5,800 employees.

Two battery plants will be constructed in Kentucky, with around 5,000 employees. Ford said that the three battery plants will have the capacity to create power for more than 1 million EVs a year.

Kumar Galhotra, Ford’s president of the Americas and international markets, said in an interview, “The level of this investment demonstrates how confident we are.”

“This is a transformative moment where Ford will lead America’s transition to electric vehicles,” said Executive Chairman Bill Ford, the great grandson of Henry Ford.

The auto giant’s significant investment announcement comes after its exit announcement from the Indian market. Earlier this month, Ford said that it will cease manufacturing vehicles in India as part of its restructuring plans. It said that it will wind down vehicle assembly in Sanand by the Q4 FY22 and vehicle and engine manufacturing unit in Chennai by the Q2 FY22. As many as 4,000 employees will be impacted by this, the company stated. "The decision was reinforced by years of accumulated losses, persistent industry overcapacity and lack of expected growth in India's car market," stated Anurag Mehrotra, President and Managing Director of Ford India.

Also read: Ford to cease vehicle manufacturing operations in India; 4,000 employees to be affected