Times have really changed: The giant US automaker has to buy a license from China to make batteries

Tram Ho

$3.5 billion deal

On February 13, Ford Motor announced plans to build a $3.5 billion electric vehicle battery factory in Michigan, using technology licensed from the Chinese company, a major EV battery maker. best of the world.

The plant to be built in Marshall, a rural town about 100 miles west of Detroit, will be the latest in a growing list of new battery and electric car plants American businesses published in recent months. Ford expects to employ about 2,500 jobs at the plant and start production in 2026.

Thời thế thay đổi thật rồi: Nhà sản xuất ô tô khổng lồ từ Mỹ phải mua giấy phép của Trung Quốc để sản xuất pin - Ảnh 1.

Accordingly, Ford will own 100% of the factory, including the building and infrastructure. Ford workers will build the batteries, while CATL owns the technology and services.

Bill Ford, Ford’s executive chairman and great-grandson of founder Henry Ford, said in the February 13 announcement that the pact will ” get us up to speed so we can build our own cars.” this type of battery ”.

Ford’s new plant will produce lithium, iron and phosphate batteries, a combination known as LFP. These batteries are less expensive because they do not contain expensive components such as cobalt and nickel, which are used in conventional batteries. LFP batteries have the advantage of being more durable than cobalt and nickel batteries, storing more energy, allowing electric vehicles to travel longer distances on a single charge.

The whole purpose of the project is to reduce the cost of electric vehicles,” said Ford CEO Jim Farley. LFP is the most affordable battery technology .”

Times change: The strong development of Chinese technology

CATL is the world leader in lithium iron phosphate batteries, which are cheaper and more stable than nickel-based batteries. CATL currently has 13 factories in Europe and Asia, but none in the US. CATL currently supplies electric vehicle batteries to Tesla, BMW and many others.

American automakers currently cooperate mainly with Korean companies to produce batteries. Ford, General Motors and other automakers build other battery factories that are jointly owned with their Korean counterparts.

Ford is building two battery plants in Kentucky and a third in Tennessee, both with the participation of Korean company SK On. GM recently started production at a battery plant in Ohio, co-owned with LG Energy Solution, and partners are also building two more plants in Tennessee and Michigan .

The deal is not one-time. The pair are also exploring supply deals in Europe and China, although the structure they will take is uncertain.

Thời thế thay đổi thật rồi: Nhà sản xuất ô tô khổng lồ từ Mỹ phải mua giấy phép của Trung Quốc để sản xuất pin - Ảnh 2.

For CATL, the Michigan pact allows the company to be incorporated in the US without incurring the cost of building and operating a factory worth billions of dollars. It also adds another major brand to its growing steady clientele. Tesla, which accounts for up to 10% of the company’s sales in 2021, is by far its largest single customer.

The Ford-CATL deal is part of a role reversal for the US and Chinese auto industries. Three decades ago, China excitedly invited American automakers to bring investment and expertise to China.

Western automakers have moved into China to form joint ventures with local manufacturers to teach them the art of making cars. Today, positions and roles have been reversed when one of America’s best-known tech giants asks China to provide the technology it needs to manufacture in the face of a changing global auto industry. change quickly.

Other companies may consider a similar deal to reduce the high costs of importing batteries from China. The pact also provides a template for Chinese battery makers looking to establish a presence in the US.

References: Bloomberg, CNBC

Share the news now

Source : Genk