Ford has announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with LG and KOÇ Holdings to build a battery production facility in Ankara, Turkey. The move comes as Europe has officially mandated the phasing out of combustion engines by 2035. With construction starting this year, Ford plans to produce 25GWh of battery cells annually at the plant when it opens in 2026. Eventually, it plans to ramp up production to 45GWh annually, making it one of the largest battery plants on the continent.
LG has worked with Ford Europe to supply the automaker with batteries in Poland, but this would be the Korean battery maker’s first JV facility with Ford. The other MOU partner, KOÇ Holdings, a Turkish industrial conglomerate, has worked with Ford at the automaker’s assembly locations in Turkey. Ford did not mention the cost of the facility, nor the battery chemistry. However, with the company introducing LFP batteries to its vehicles in the coming months, this new Turkish facility could supply vehicles for the European market.
Compared to North America, where Ford is constructing 10 new production locations, including two massive battery cell factories, Europe has not received the same treatment. In fact, earlier this month, Ford announced that it would be cutting jobs at some of its largest European production facilities as the company continues to electrify.
To produce at least 2 million EVs annually by 2026, Ford has a massive production ramp ahead of it, and battery production facilities like the one announced today will be key for the brand to achieve this goal. Hopefully, with consumer demand continuing as it has, Ford should have no problem selling this wave of EVs to increasingly more interested consumers.
