There are more and more electric cars and so more and more raw materials are needed to produce batteries. This creates shortages, but Ford is one of the few brands that is not concerned about this. In fact, the brand thinks it can turn its backlog into an advantage.
That’s what Lisa Drake – Ford’s vice president of EV development – said during a presentation about the brand’s future plans. She called the looming shortage of raw materials “not necessarily a constraint” for Ford. And that’s good, because Ford has ambitious plans for its electric cars. The backlog of the Americans is still large at the moment.
Will Ford catch up?
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From 100,000 to 2 million
Last year, Ford produced about 100,000 electric cars worldwide. The Americans want to raise this number to 2 million by the end of 2026. In addition, the electric model range must be expanded. Currently, with the Ford F-150 Lightning and the Ford Mustang Mach-E, Ford only offers two fully electric options. The division known at Ford as “Ford Model E” is busy developing new EVs, including a new electric pickup truck and a three-row SUV.
In addition, the factory in Cologne, where the Fiesta still rolls off the line until June, will be made suitable for the electric Ford based on the Volkswagen ID.4 later this year.
Lithium and nickel are crucial
Why does Ford despise that they can deliver on the ambitious plans? Because the brand has become close friends with the largest suppliers of lithium and nickel. These are the most common and most important substances used in battery packs. Ford says it has already secured about 90 percent of the lithium and nickel it needs to meet its ambitious 2026 EV target through collaborations with three major industry players.
Other improvements
Ford does not want to focus on bigger batteries, but on better efficiency. Then you can produce smaller batteries, which require fewer raw materials. For that reason, LFP batteries are also increasingly coming into the picture at Ford. These have a lower energy density, but they are cheaper too
produce require less controversial raw materials (such as cobalt), and are therefore less harmful to the climate.
Source: Autoreview.nl by www.autoreview.nl.
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