Ford Motor Co plans to ramp up its EV production over the next two years – specifically, the automakers intends on becoming the “world’s second largest EV manufacturer” in that time, with annual production capacity of nearly 600,000.
The statement came from a top company executive last Friday, who revealed that “Ford is working to vertically integrate more EV components, including power electronics and e-drives, at existing facilities that build parts for combustion vehicles – a modern take on founder Henry Ford’s pioneering work in building many of his own components.”
Ford’s plans to ramp up EV production should perhaps come as no surprise, as the demand for the new Ford F-150 Lightning pickup has been undeniable. Lisa Drake, the chief operating officer of Ford North America, noted that retail reservations for the latest EV are approaching 200,000.
“We haven’t used ‘vertical integration’ in this industry in a long time,” explained Drake. “But you’re going to hear it a lot more.” Last week, Reuters reported that Ford will likely come up against Stellantis for third place in the EV race by 2025, with Tesla maintaining the top spot and Volkswagen coming in at second place.
But according to Drake, Ford is currently working with five global battery suppliers to allow for increased EV production, and aims to build 240 gigawatt-hours of production capacity globally by 2030. Drake also revealed that Ford expects to reduce EV battery cell cost to $80 per kilowatt-hour at the pack level “well before the end of the decade.”
