Bloomberg reported that LG Energy Solutions plans to build an electric vehicle battery factory in Turkey with American automaker Ford.
According to an anonymous source, Bloomberg said that LG Energy Solutions and Ford are planning to establish a battery joint venture in Turkey in late January or early February. Details such as when construction began and when it was completed were not disclosed.
Ford originally signed an MOU with SK On andKoc Holdings, a Turkish manufacturing company, in March last year with plants to build a battery joint venture near Ankara, Turkey. Slated for 2025,they pursued a joint venture project to load batteries with an annual capacity of 30 to 45 gigawatt hours (GWh) into their electric vehicles.
These three companies have discussedissues in detail for a while, but the discussion could have been more active. This is because of the heavy burden of the global economic downturn, high-interest rates, and contraction of the capital market.
Bloomberg reported that LG Energy Solutions proposed a battery joint venture as a new alternative and that related discussions were underway. Ford CEO, Jim Farley, visited Korea last year and discussed cooperation with LG Energy Solutions in the electric vehicle battery business. An official from LG Energy Solutions said, “There is no decision regarding the establishment of a battery joint venture.”
Ford has increased its electric vehicle investment to $50 billion and unveiled plans to sell 2 million electric vehicles by 2026. In an interview with Bloomberg, Ford CEO Jim Farley said, “The $50 billion funding is for Ford’s electric vehicle business.”
Ford has strengthened cooperation by installing LG Energy Solutions electric vehicle batteries in the electric vehicle Mustang Mach-E. At Ford’s request, it plans to double the size of the battery production line at the Polish plant.
Ford plans to continue cooperating with SK On in the US battery joint venture project. Ford plans to build two electric vehicle battery joint ventures in Kentucky and Tennessee in the United States. SK On electric vehicle battery is installed in the Ford electric truck F-150. Ford is also pursuing battery supply cooperation with European battery maker Northvolt.
By Staff Reporter Jiwoong Kim (jw0316@etnews.com)