Ford Motor Company Launches Its Colossal Bet Against GM and Tesla

Ford Motor Company

By 2026, the Dearborn carmaker intends to create 2 million electrified cars.

The construction of a massive facility close to Memphis, Tennessee, represents a significant risk on Ford Motor Company’s path to future commercial and stock market success.

By 2026, the blue oval brand hopes to have produced 2 million electric vehicles annually worldwide. The company only produced 27,140 electric vehicles in the US in 2021. This means that even for Ford Motor Company, a business that has been making and selling cars worldwide for many years, attaining 2 million units five years later remains a significant hurdle.

Jim Farley, the CEO, is committed to achieving this enormous objective. Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is anticipated to sell more than half of its vehicles by 2030, and he pledged to invest $50 billion in their research and development.

The building of a massive production facility housing a brand-new plant for producing automobiles and a factory making the batteries that power them in Tennessee is the first and one of the most crucial steps in overcoming this problem.

Ford Motor Company Newest Assembly Plant Ever Since 1969

This location, which Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) refers to as BlueOval City in imitation of Tesla’s (TSLA) Gigafactory, features a roughly 6-square-mile mega-complex.

Ford Motor Company estimates that it will add 6,000 new employees. The automaker will primarily produce electric trucks there and develop batteries with its South Korean partner SK that will also be used in automobiles under its luxury brand Lincoln.

The business, which describes itself as “America’s No. 2 electric car brand,” announced that vehicle manufacturing will start in 2025.

This production facility’s development is expected to cost $5.6 billion and should help the automobile business “get closer” to its goal of producing 2 million vehicles annually by 2026.

Less than a year after the investments were unveiled, Ford Motor Company declared on September 23 that it had begun building the facility. The business stated that more than 4.6 million cubic yards of earth, or the equivalent of 34,500 home swimming pools, had already been moved by its personnel.

Stone has been set down in an amount close to 370,000 tons, which is more than 1,600 Statues of Liberty’s weight. According to Ford Motor Company, more than 4,600 deep foundations have been put in, which together measure almost 176 Eiffel Towers in height.

“Here in West Tennessee, we are constructing the future, according to Eric Grubb, Ford Motor Company’s director of new footprint development. “Ford Motor Company will be able to assist lead America’s transformation to electric vehicles thanks to this plant, which serves as the model for all of the company’s future production locations.

The company’s first brand-new assembly factory since 1969 is at BlueOval City.

Ford Motor Company is growing.

About 25,000 electric vehicles were sold by GM (GM) in the US in 2021. Still, this number could have been more significant if Mary Barra’s company hadn’t been forced to halt Chevy Bolt manufacturing because of a battery issue.

However, it is uncertain whether GM will surpass Ford Motor Company in 2022. The F-150 Lightning, an electric version of the best-selling F-150 truck, has been a commercial success since May, which will boost the competitive edge of the Dearborn, Michigan-based corporation.

According to official statistics, Tesla, which withholds its sales data in the United States, was in first place with a market share of 72% of the 487,560 EVs sold.

Ford Motor Company’s haste to satisfy the rising demand for electric vehicles is evident in the early start of building at the Tennessee production site. The car manufacturer wants to be able to get rid of everything that can hinder their initiatives.

The company’s leadership was reformed on September 22 to better manage the supply chain, while the lack of components and the increase in the price of raw materials continue to be a fundamental problem.

Thus, the company has recently temporarily expanded John Lawler’s responsibilities as chief financial officer. Lawler now has the additional responsibility of overseeing Ford Motor Company’s worldwide supply chain.

According to a news statement from the firm, “Ford Motor Company is modernizing its global supply chain management capabilities to enable efficient and dependable component procurement, internal development of essential technologies and skills, and world-class cost and quality execution.”

 

Featured Image: Megapixl © Jetcityimage

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About the author: Valerie Ablang is a freelance writer with a background in scientific research and an interest in stock market analysis. She previously worked as an article writer for various industrial niches. Aside from being a writer, she is also a professional chemist, wife, and mother to her son. She loves to spend her free time watching movies and learning creative design.