Ford Motor announced Thursday that it is on track to deliver 600,000 electric vehicles per year and 100 percent of its complementary power cell supply by the end of 2023, with the support of Ningde Times. Ford will begin using low-cost lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries in the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lighting models, and is expected to reach its goal of 2 million electric vehicles per year by 2026, the company said.
F-150 Lightning
Previously investors and Wall Street analysts have questioned — whether established car companies like Ford can source enough raw materials like power cells to meet their ambitious EV sales targets.
As part of a larger presentation, Ford has shown in its latest announcement that it can already secure most of the EV power cell supplies needed to meet its goals.
In a statement, company CEO Jim Farley said.
"Ford's new electric vehicle lineup has generated tremendous consumer enthusiasm and demand. And now, we're working to drive larger deployments of industrial systems. As Ford's electric vehicle division, the Model e team is leveraging its strengths of speed, focus and creative action to ensure the supply of raw materials and batteries needed to deliver breakthrough electric vehicles to millions of customers."
Mustang Mach-E
Specifically, Ford will begin equipping EV models with low-cost lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries from Ningde Time.
"Despite the slightly lower energy density, it also has a cost advantage of about 10-15 percent -- especially in reducing dependence on mineral resources such as nickel (which is expected to become increasingly available in the next few years). In addition, the company will offer Ningde's LFP battery packs for Mustang Mach-E models starting next year, and expand to the F-150 Lighting electric pickup lineup in early 2024."
Ford is currently relying on LG Energy Solution and SK On in South Korea to meet its production goals by the end of 2023, and expects to produce at least 2 million EV models annually by 2026.
"Even better, Ford claims to have secured about 70 percent of the battery capacity needed to support the latter goal. The automaker has signed a non-binding memorandum with Ningde Times to explore Ford says it has so far secured about 70 percent of the battery capacity needed to support the latter goal."
Finally, the automaker has signed a non-binding memorandum with Ningde Times to explore a deeper collaboration that is expected to form the basis for much of the remainder.
