THIS IS A BIG FUCKING DEAL
Memphis, Tennessee — In the single largest manufacturing investment in its 118-year-history, Ford Motor Co. on Monday said it and a partner will invest $11.4 billion and create 11,000 new jobs to build electric vehicles and batteries at two new, sprawling campuses in Tennessee and Kentucky.
In rural west Tennessee, Ford and battery manufacturing partner SK Innovation plan to build what would be called Blue Oval City. The massive campus would be situated on the Memphis Regional Supersite, a 6-square-mile greenfield site northeast of the city that the state of Tennessee and local officials have been working for years to prepare for large-scale development.
The news is a blow to Michigan's claim to national leadership in the auto industry's pivot to electrification, signaling that the home of the Motor City might lag rival states eager to tout their lower industrial power costs, larger tracts of land for manufacturing development and more moderate climates.
Ford claims the Tennessee complex will be among the largest auto manufacturing campuses ever built in the United States. The $5.6 billion site on the outskirts of a small town called Stanton will employ nearly 6,000 people and support production of the next generation of electric F-Series pickup trucks as well as batteries.
Ford Motor Co.'s rendering of it's planned Blue Oval City in west Tennessee
It's envisioned to be what Ford describes as a "vertically integrated ecosystem" consisting of a vehicle assembly plant, a battery plant jointly operated by Ford and SK, as well as facilities for suppliers and battery recycling operations. Ford says the new assembly plant will be carbon neutral with zero waste to landfill when it's fully operational in 2025.
“West Tennessee is primed to deliver the workforce and quality of life needed to create the next great American success story with Ford Motor Company and SK Innovation,” said Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, in a statement. “This is a watershed moment for Tennesseans as we lead the future of the automotive industry and advanced manufacturing.”
Meanwhile, Ford and SK — via their joint venture, BlueOvalSK — plan to build the $5.8 billion, 1,500-acre BlueOvalSK Battery Park in Glendale, Kentucky, a small town in Hardin County in the central part of the state. There, some 5,000 workers will be spread across two battery plants that will support future Ford and Lincoln EVs built at Ford's North American assembly plants.
In a statement, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, said the investment was the largest in the state's history, and he added the project "solidifies our leadership role in the future of the automotive manufacturing industry. It will transform our economy, creating a better Kentucky, with more opportunities, for our families for generations."
Earlier this month, the state's Legislature passed a $410 million economic incentive package aimed at luring massive investment projects to the state. Using state incentives, Ford will be able to take advantage of up to $250 million in forgivable loans and $36 million of skills training investment.
The 1,500 acres will be transferred to the company. The funding and acreage are dependent on Ford fulfilling its end of the bargain hitting the jobs, wage and investment numbers promised to the state — which will be measured annually, said Larry Hayes, secretary of Kentucky's Economic Development Cabinet.
Production at the new facilities is slated to begin in 2025. Each of the three battery plants targets about 43 gigawatt hours per year of U.S. production capacity — enough power to drive 1 million electric vehicles, according to Lisa Drake, Ford's chief operating officer for North America."
"This is a major step up for Ford in the EV arms race as the Detroit stalwart is laser-focused on transforming as part of this green tidal wave," said Dan Ives, senior equity analyst at Wedbush Securities, in an email, as Ford's stock traded up more than 4% after market's close. "These four new plants are very strategic and the right move at the right time."
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Ford, partner to spend $11.4B on four new plants in Tennessee, Kentucky to back EVs (detroitnews.com)
Memphis, Tennessee — In the single largest manufacturing investment in its 118-year-history, Ford Motor Co. on Monday said it and a partner will invest $11.4 billion and create 11,000 new jobs to build electric vehicles and batteries at two new, sprawling campuses in Tennessee and Kentucky.
In rural west Tennessee, Ford and battery manufacturing partner SK Innovation plan to build what would be called Blue Oval City. The massive campus would be situated on the Memphis Regional Supersite, a 6-square-mile greenfield site northeast of the city that the state of Tennessee and local officials have been working for years to prepare for large-scale development.
The news is a blow to Michigan's claim to national leadership in the auto industry's pivot to electrification, signaling that the home of the Motor City might lag rival states eager to tout their lower industrial power costs, larger tracts of land for manufacturing development and more moderate climates.
Ford claims the Tennessee complex will be among the largest auto manufacturing campuses ever built in the United States. The $5.6 billion site on the outskirts of a small town called Stanton will employ nearly 6,000 people and support production of the next generation of electric F-Series pickup trucks as well as batteries.
Ford Motor Co.'s rendering of it's planned Blue Oval City in west Tennessee
It's envisioned to be what Ford describes as a "vertically integrated ecosystem" consisting of a vehicle assembly plant, a battery plant jointly operated by Ford and SK, as well as facilities for suppliers and battery recycling operations. Ford says the new assembly plant will be carbon neutral with zero waste to landfill when it's fully operational in 2025.
“West Tennessee is primed to deliver the workforce and quality of life needed to create the next great American success story with Ford Motor Company and SK Innovation,” said Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, in a statement. “This is a watershed moment for Tennesseans as we lead the future of the automotive industry and advanced manufacturing.”
Meanwhile, Ford and SK — via their joint venture, BlueOvalSK — plan to build the $5.8 billion, 1,500-acre BlueOvalSK Battery Park in Glendale, Kentucky, a small town in Hardin County in the central part of the state. There, some 5,000 workers will be spread across two battery plants that will support future Ford and Lincoln EVs built at Ford's North American assembly plants.
In a statement, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, said the investment was the largest in the state's history, and he added the project "solidifies our leadership role in the future of the automotive manufacturing industry. It will transform our economy, creating a better Kentucky, with more opportunities, for our families for generations."
Earlier this month, the state's Legislature passed a $410 million economic incentive package aimed at luring massive investment projects to the state. Using state incentives, Ford will be able to take advantage of up to $250 million in forgivable loans and $36 million of skills training investment.
The 1,500 acres will be transferred to the company. The funding and acreage are dependent on Ford fulfilling its end of the bargain hitting the jobs, wage and investment numbers promised to the state — which will be measured annually, said Larry Hayes, secretary of Kentucky's Economic Development Cabinet.
Production at the new facilities is slated to begin in 2025. Each of the three battery plants targets about 43 gigawatt hours per year of U.S. production capacity — enough power to drive 1 million electric vehicles, according to Lisa Drake, Ford's chief operating officer for North America."
"This is a major step up for Ford in the EV arms race as the Detroit stalwart is laser-focused on transforming as part of this green tidal wave," said Dan Ives, senior equity analyst at Wedbush Securities, in an email, as Ford's stock traded up more than 4% after market's close. "These four new plants are very strategic and the right move at the right time."
CONTINUED:
Ford, partner to spend $11.4B on four new plants in Tennessee, Kentucky to back EVs (detroitnews.com)
