Ford announces giant new electric pickup truck factory plus three new battery gigafactories

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Ford announces giant new electric pickup truck factory plus three new battery gigafactories
Fred Lambert
- Sep. 27th 2021 4:23 pm PT

@FredericLambert



Blue-Oval-City_01.jpg



Ford made a massive announcement today about accelerating electric vehicle production with a giant new factory to produce electric pickup trucks in Tennessee and three new battery gigafactories.

The massive new project is called ‘Blue Oval City’.



There’s a lot to unpack here, but here are the main new announcements:

  • Blue Oval City is going to be a complex constructed on a nearly 6-square-mile site in west Tennessee to build next-generation electric F-Series pickups and advanced batteries.
  • The battery plant is going to be in partnership with SK Innovation, a large Korea-based battery cell manufacturer.
  • On top of the battery plant at Blue Oval City, Ford and SK will build a new “BlueOvalSK Battery Park” in central Kentucky. It will consist of “twin battery plants that will power a new lineup of Ford and Lincoln EVs.”
Blue Oval City is going to be built in Stanton, Tennessee and the twin battery factories are going to be built in Glendale, Kentucky.

Here are some renders of Blue Oval City:

Blue-Oval-City_02.jpg

Blue-Oval-City_05.jpg

BlueOvalSK-Battery-Park_02.jpg

Ford and SK plan to invest over $11 billion to deploy this new production capacity and employ 11,000 people (6,000 at Blue Oval City and 5,000 at the two battery factories in Kentucky).

They plan for the three battery factories to produce 129 GWh of battery cells per year for Ford’s production of electric vehicles.

Here are a few renders of BlueOvalSK Battery Park:

BlueOvalSK-Battery-Park_01.jpg

BlueOvalSK-Battery-Park_03.jpg

They plan to start battery production and production of their next-gen electric pickup trucks in 2025.


We recently reported on Ford’s production plans for the F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck. Ford’s plan includes a ramp to 15,000 vehicles in 2022, 55,000 in 2023, and 80,000 in 2024. Ford will then target 160,000 vehicles in 2025 when the second-generation Lightning hits the road, which will apparently be built in Tennessee.

Here’s Ford’s press release:

DEARBORN, Mich., Sept. 27, 2021 – Ford Motor Company is announcing plans to bring electric vehicles at scale to American customers with two new massive, environmentally and technologically advanced campuses in Tennessee and Kentucky that will produce the next generation of electric F-Series trucks and the batteries to power future electric Ford and Lincoln vehicles.

Ford plans to make the largest ever U.S. investment in electric vehicles at one time by any automotive manufacturer and, together with its partner, SK Innovation, plans to invest $11.4 billion and create nearly 11,000 new jobs at the Tennessee and Kentucky mega-sites, strengthening local communities and building on Ford’s position as America’s leading employer of hourly autoworkers.
An all-new $5.6 billion mega campus in Stanton, Tenn., called Blue Oval City, will create approximately 6,000 new jobs and reimagine how vehicles and batteries are manufactured.

Blue Oval City will become a vertically integrated ecosystem for Ford to assemble an expanded lineup of electric F-Series vehicles and will include a BlueOvalSK battery plant, key suppliers and recycling. Ford’s new Tennessee assembly plant is designed to be carbon neutral with zero waste to landfill once fully operational.

In central Kentucky, Ford plans to build a dedicated battery manufacturing complex with SK Innovation – the $5.8 billion BlueOvalSK Battery Park – creating 5,000 jobs. Twin battery plants on the site are intended to supply Ford’s North American assembly plants with locally assembled batteries for powering next-generation electric Ford and Lincoln vehicles. Investments in the new Tennessee and Kentucky battery plants are planned to be made via BlueOvalSK, a new joint venture to be formed by Ford and SK Innovation, subject to definitive agreements, regulatory approvals and other conditions.

“This is a transformative moment where Ford will lead America’s transition to electric vehicles and usher in a new era of clean, carbon-neutral manufacturing,” said Ford Executive Chair Bill Ford. “With this investment and a spirit of innovation, we can achieve goals once thought mutually exclusive – protect our planet, build great electric vehicles Americans will love and contribute to our nation’s prosperity.”

This news comes amid strong demand for the all-new Ford F-150 Lightning truck, E-Transit and Mustang Mach-E electric vehicles, and is on top of Ford’s recent announcement to expand production capacity and add jobs at the Ford Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Mich.

“This is our moment – our biggest investment ever – to help build a better future for America,” said Jim Farley, Ford president and CEO. “We are moving now to deliver breakthrough electric vehicles for the many rather than the few. It’s about creating good jobs that support American families, an ultra-efficient, carbon-neutral manufacturing system, and a growing business that delivers value for communities, dealers and shareholders.”

Ford’s $7 billion investment is the largest ever manufacturing investment at one time by any automotive manufacturer in the U.S. Part of Ford’s more-than-$30 billion investment in electric vehicles through 2025, this investment supports the company’s longer-term goal to create a sustainable American manufacturing ecosystem, and to accelerate its progress towards achieving carbon neutrality, backed by science-based targets in line with the Paris Climate Agreement.

Overall, Ford expects 40% to 50% of its global vehicle volume to be fully electric by 2030.

“We are proud to be partnering with Ford as they open a new chapter in automobile history,” said Dongseob Jee, president of battery business, SK Innovation. “We are excited to be taking this decisive leap together, as partners, and to bring about our common vision for a cleaner planet. Our joint venture, BlueOvalSK, will embody this spirit of collaboration. We look forward to growing our trust-based partnership by delivering on our market-leading value proposition, experience and cutting-edge expertise.”
All-new Ford Blue Oval City
Reimagining how electric vehicles – and the batteries that power them – are designed, manufactured and recycled, Ford is creating an all-new electric vehicle manufacturing ecosystem.
Blue Oval City will be among the largest auto manufacturing campuses in U.S. history. Like the iconic Rouge complex in Michigan did a century earlier, Blue Oval City will usher in a new era for American manufacturing.

The 3,600-acre campus covering nearly 6 square miles will encompass vehicle assembly, battery production and a supplier park in a vertically integrated system that delivers cost efficiency while minimizing the carbon footprint of the manufacturing process. The assembly plant will use always-on cloud-connected technologies to drive vast improvements in quality and productivity. The mega campus is designed to add more sustainability solutions, including the potential to use local renewable energy sources such as geothermal, solar and wind power.

“West Tennessee is primed to deliver the workforce and quality of life needed to create the next great American success story with Ford Motor Company and SK Innovation,” said Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee. “This is a watershed moment for Tennesseans as we lead the future of the automotive industry and advanced manufacturing.”
Creating approximately 6,000 jobs, Blue Oval City will be a hive of technical innovation to build next-generation electric F-Series trucks. This growth opportunity will allow Ford to reach new customers with an expanded electric truck lineup.

“Blue Oval City’s assembly plant will harness Ford’s global manufacturing expertise and cutting-edge technologies to deliver cost efficiencies and the quality that our customers expect,” said Kumar Galhotra, Ford president, Americas & International Markets Group. “This will enable Ford to lead in the race to bring dependable, affordable and advanced electric vehicles to even more Americans.”

Bigger assembly plant, smaller environmental impact
Despite its size, the assembly plant at Blue Oval City is designed to have as minimal an impact as possible on the surrounding environment – and even to generate positive impacts. The assembly plant’s goal is to have a regenerative impact on the local environment through biomimicry in design of the facility. From the start of production in 2025, Ford’s goal is for the assembly plant to be carbon neutral.
Through an on-site wastewater treatment plant, the assembly plant aspires to make zero freshwater withdrawals for assembly processes by incorporating water reuse and recycling systems. Zero-waste-to-landfill processes will capture materials and production scrap at an on-site materials collection center to sort and route materials for recycling or processing either at the plant or at off-site facilities once the plant is operational.
Ford is collaborating with Redwood Materials, a leading battery materials company, to make electric vehicles more sustainable and affordable for Americans by localizing the supply chain network, creating recycling options for scrap and end-of-life vehicles, and ramping up lithium-ion recycling. Ford believes battery recycling is essential for the success of an electrified future and has the potential to offer significant economic benefits as well as help solve for end-of-life battery recycling.
BlueOvalSK Battery Park
Joining the Ford electric manufacturing revolution is a planned $5.8 billion, 1,500-acre BlueOvalSK battery manufacturing campus in Glendale, Ky., which is targeted to open in 2025.
Twin co-located plants will be capable of producing up to 43 gigawatt hours each for a total of 86 gigawatt hours annually. Together, these American-made batteries will power next-generation electric Ford and Lincoln vehicles.
Bringing 5,000 new jobs to Kentucky, BlueOvalSK Battery Park will be centrally located to support Ford’s North American assembly plants’ footprint.
“We thank Ford Motor Company and SK Innovation for their investment in Team Kentucky,” said Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear. “This is the single largest investment in the history of our state and this project solidifies our leadership role in the future of the automotive manufacturing industry. It will transform our economy, creating a better Kentucky, with more opportunities, for our families for generations. Our economy is on fire – or maybe it’s electric. Our time is now. Our future is now.”
Technician investments in Texas and the U.S.
Ford is investing $90 million in Texas alone as part of a $525 million total investment across the U.S. during the next five years to transform America’s auto technician industry. The investment will go toward job training and career readiness initiatives for the current and next generation of technicians. These programs aim to develop highly skilled technicians and will support Ford’s growing portfolio of connected electric vehicles.
https://electrek.co/2021/09/27/ford...up-truck-factory-3-new-battery-gigafactories/

Ford jolts auto industry with $11.4 billion investment in new electric vehicle, battery plants
"We're on the cusp of a revolution," Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford tells "NBC Nightly News."

Sept. 27, 2021, 6:00 PM CDT / Updated Sept. 28, 2021, 4:09 AM CDT
By Corky Siemaszko

The Ford Motor Co. gave the auto industry a jolt Monday with word that it plans to spend $11.4 billion on new production sites in Tennessee and Kentucky where it plans to build electric pickup trucks and cars — and the batteries to power them — on a massive scale.

It will also create 11,000 jobs in the two states that have struggled to recover from the collapse of the coal industry.

The audacity of Ford’s massive investment in electric vehicles was not lost on Ford Executive Chair Bill Ford.

“If my great-grandfather saw our industry five years ago, it would be very recognizable to him, it hadn’t changed a lot,” he said of the Ford founder, Henry Ford, in an interview with Tom Costello on "NBC Nightly News."

“There were a lot of evolutions, but no revolutions. Now we’re on the cusp of a revolution. It’s not just the electrification, although that’s a huge piece of it.”

It’s also a chance, Ford said in a statement, to “achieve goals once thought mutually exclusive — protect our planet, build great electric vehicles Americans will love, and contribute to our nation’s prosperity.”

Of those new jobs, 6,000 are destined for what’s being called the Blue Oval City campus in Stanton, Tennessee, a $5.6 billion megacampus where electric versions of the popular F-series pickup truck will be manufactured, along with electric batteries.

This new assembly plant “is designed to be carbon neutral with zero waste-to-landfill once fully operational,” Ford said in a statement.

“This is a watershed moment for Tennesseans as we lead the future of the automotive industry and advanced manufacturing,” Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, said.

The remaining 5,000 new jobs are heading to Glendale, Kentucky, and the $5.8 billion BlueOvalSK Battery Park, where batteries to power the “next-generation electric Ford and Lincoln vehicles” will be manufactured at two sites on the campus starting in 2025.

“This is the single largest investment in the history of our state,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, said. “Never again will we be thought of as a flyover state. Our time in now. Our future in now.”

Ford said the United States doesn’t have a big battery manufacturing industry, and there was a reason why his company decided to establish a “beachhead” in two states where coal was once king.

“The one thing that also attracted us to both Tennessee and Kentucky is the workforce,” he said. “They both have really good workforces and are willing to be trained to do these jobs and that was a big consideration.”

Tennessee and Kentucky are so-called right to work states where workers aren’t required to join unions as a condition of employment.

The company is also setting aside another $525 million to train the technicians across the country who will work to service its new fleet of electric-powered vehicles. Of that training money, $90 million will be spent in Texas alone.

Ford projected that by 2030, some 40 percent of his company's vehicles will be electric. He vowed to make believers out of the skeptics who fear a switch to electric from internal combustion engines means sacrificing power.

“I actually don't think it'll be that hard once, once they see what these vehicles can do,” Ford said. “For instance, they're faster than lightning, so to speak off the line, they're very quick, faster than anything else that's out there.”

The new battery-powered Ford Mustang Mach-E, which can go from zero to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds, is going to be road-tested by the Michigan State Police, he said.

Also, Ford said, there are some things an electric vehicle can do that a gas-powered ride can’t do.

“For instance, it can be a backup generator for your house,” he said. “If you lose power, you plug your house into your (F-150) Lightning and you can power your house up to three days. Also, it can be a portable generator at worksite.”

When Ford was asked what his great-grandfather would think of “your new Model T for the 21st Century.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-new...11-4-billion-investment-new-electric-n1280182
“I think he’d say, ‘What took you so long?'” Ford replied.
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CybertruckAgent

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Great news for Tennessee and Ford. Tennessee is now tied for most auto manufacturing facilities in a state with 4. We’re also going to have huge electric battery manufacturing with GM, Nissan and Ford producing their batteries here. Tesla come on down, let’s get y’all out of Fremont, Nashville is beautiful this time of year… ?
 

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It is good news for the climate and for electrification but it is also off in the future. If they broke ground today the earliest the Blue Oval city could begin producing batteries and vehicles would be late in 2023 and a ramp to full production over the following year, so 2024 (optimistically). Whereas TN is beautiful this time of the year it isn't buildable year round. Given the drainage management issues at GigaAustin I hope that Ford learns and accommodates when they build.
 

Faffle

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I'm guessing this is 11,000 non-union employees? Which is ok with me, point being, less federal rebate?
 


Crissa

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Tesla come on down, let’s get y’all out of Fremont, Nashville is beautiful this time of year… ?
What? No. Tesla needs all the facilities it can have.

And you're just not going to find as well educated and healthy work force as in California.

-Crissa

PS: Did anyone check on when they expect these facilities to produce anything?
 

FutureBoy

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PS: Did anyone check on when they expect these facilities to produce anything?
You mean like just in time for Ford to go bankrupt? Maybe this is a bail out ploy?

Overall, I get the feeling that bragging about number of people that will get jobs is a bad strategy for EV manufacturers who are trying to cut the number of people it takes to build a vehicle so they can save production costs.
 

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You mean like just in time for Ford to go bankrupt? Maybe this is a bail out ploy?

Overall, I get the feeling that bragging about number of people that will get jobs is a bad strategy for EV manufacturers who are trying to cut the number of people it takes to build a vehicle so they can save production costs.
It's easy to be cynical... it's my default mode!

The way I look at this, Ford's management finally clued in about how truly f*d they were. Tesla launching the Cybertruck with a price/ feature-set that undercuts their entire ICE premium line was a huge wake up call for them.

My theory is maybe Ford tries to split the company at some point. Ford EV and Ford ICE are separate companies. Ford ICE is tied to unions and dealerships, Ford EV is free of unions and sells direct. Ford ICE slowly crashes and burns while Ford EV rises from the flames.

How they would get there from here is beyond me, but this factory is part of Ford EV.

PS OOps so much for not being cynical!
 

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How is Ford able to invest this much money being in the financial shape they are in?
 


firsttruck

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How is Ford able to invest this much money being in the financial shape they are in?
Yup, where are they getting the money from. They are deeply in debt and their corporate bonds are rated at junk level.

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This is SCARY! Tesla, GM, Ford (The numbers don't lie)
Sep 8, 2021
Investing Against the Grain



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Is Ford ahead of the curve, riding the curve or behind the curve? Where are the other brands along the transition curve?

Glad to read Ford is making the move. I am rooting for them.
 

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That sounds like a beginning of a "gold rush" for automotive companies to switch to EV manufacturing. Who doesn't - will disappear. But now nobody will wait until the EV problem dissolves by itself.
 

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My theory is maybe Ford tries to split the company at some point. Ford EV and Ford ICE are separate companies. Ford ICE is tied to unions and dealerships, Ford EV is free of unions and sells direct. Ford ICE slowly crashes and burns while Ford EV rises from the flames.

How they would get there from here is beyond me, but this factory is part of Ford EV.
This sounds like that unsuccessful "dog and pony" show GM was trying to do, with Trevor Milton and Nikola.
I'm very cynical of these legacy BS artist. All these announcements are merely that, announcements. They have nothing to do with customers, and everything to do with investors. They see how people have been running around trying to find ways to invest in EV's and green tech. And they publicize all these grand plans, to show how they are a great way to invest at huge discounts over Tesla. o_O
Aren't those pretty pictures. Ford's a major payer in EV's, NOT. Look at their numbers of what they say they're going to produce for the next 4 years. It's dismal.
So, they're going to spend all this money to build shiny new factories?
1. Where's this money going to come from? Look at Ford's debt already!
2. Doesn't Ford have a massive amount of existing factories? You know, the ones producing ICE vehicles currently, that are going to have constant production slow-downs into the sunset! What are their grand plans for all those workers and those factories?

YEP, I'm cynical!
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