The American automaker, Ford, announced, on Monday evening, the establishment of four factories for batteries and electric cars in the United States with its South Korean partner SK Innovation, with 11,000 jobs by 2025.
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Ford said in a statement that the plants will be located in Kentucky and Tennessee.
The US group will invest $7 billion, which is part of the 30 billion already announced earlier this year, and SK Innovation will invest the rest.
“We announce the largest investment in new manufacturing facilities in Ford’s 118-year history,” the group said.
Ford also stressed that this investment supports the company’s “long-term goal of creating a sustainable US-made ecosystem and accelerating its progress toward carbon neutrality (…) in accordance with the Paris Climate Agreement.”
In the process, Ford revised its electric fleet targets upwards since it now expects 40 to 50 percent of its global volume to be all-electric vehicles by 2030 versus the 40 percent still estimated in the spring.
“This is a time of transformation as Ford will lead America’s transition to electric vehicles and usher in a new era of clean, carbon-neutral manufacturing,” Ford CEO Bill Ford said in the statement.
“Through this investment and spirit of innovation, we can achieve goals that were once thought incompatible – protecting our planet, building great electric cars that Americans will love and helping our nation thrive,” he added.
The news comes amid strong demand for the new F-150 Lightning pickup and for other electric models such as the E-Transit and Mustang Mach-E.
“We are now striving to deliver revolutionary electric vehicles for the many, not the few,” said Jim Farley, Ford’s general manager.
Choosing a topic dear to Joe Biden, he finally noted that it was about creating “good jobs that support American families.”
