There is some bad news for Blue Oval EV enthusiasts coming from the confirmation that Ford F-150 Lightning production was stopped due to one of those pesky battery fires.
It seems like all automakers need to go through the ordeal to get a better feel of what it is like to adhere to the EV revolution, but Ford is clearly not backing down after this ongoing hiccup. On the contrary, as the second-largest U.S. automaker has a $50 billion+ worldwide EV strategy in effect and it seems like every other day we hear something new coming from Detroit, Michigan.
As such, after the recent announcement that Ford is tapping its Michigan home turf for a new LFP battery plant, targeting a $3.5 billion investment in the town of Marshall for the BlueOval Battery Park Michigan, along with 2,500 new employees, there is more good news from the fresh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) field. By the way, this is one of the three major Li-Ion cell chemistries seen by experts as ready to dominate the half-trillion-dollar battery market into the 2030s. And if you need an explanation about the differences between LFP and NCM (nickel cobalt manganese), there is also a neat video embedded below.
For now, it suffices to know that Ford bets on the second battery chemistry for its electric vehicle lineup beginning later this year – and the first model to get the LFP choice in addition to the current NCM option is none other than the Ford Mustang Mach-E battery-powered crossover SUV. Only it may remain a forbidden fruit in North America, at least at first, because the Detroit automaker is launching the LFP Mach-E across the Atlantic, in Europe, first. No worries, starting with 2024, the Ford F-150 Lighting is also getting ready for the LFP party – which is a nice piece of news for America’s most popular electric pickup truck.
But why is Ford adding LFP alongside NCM? Well, as far as the company is concerned, this is all because the fresh batteries with the new chemistry “are exceptionally durable, using fewer high-demand, high-cost materials and offering enhanced fast charging capability.” They are also touted as better at handling “more frequent and faster charging,” plus when expanded at a scale they will represent the lower cost option, moving forward. For now, there are no details regarding the potential price changes for LFP Mustang Mach-E models instead of those equipped with NCM and there is also no specific time limit for when the order books will open across the Old Continent.
Still, we do know one thing – Ford is committed to “deliver an annual run rate of 600,000 electric vehicles globally by the end of this year and 2 million globally by the end of 2026,” as part of its Ford+ plan. And it also has no choice but to push its EVs in Europe since the region has recently adopted the 2035 timeline for the end of the ICE era of new cars.
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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