Ford to start construction of new battery plant in Turkey

E-Transit Custom launch event in 2022 (Photo: Ford Motor)

Ford Motor Co., LG Energy Solution (LGES) and Koç Holding have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding to form a new joint venture company that will support construction of one of Europe’s largest commercial electric vehicle battery cell production facilities.

The plant location is expected to be in Baskent, Turkey, near the capital Ankara. Ground breaking for the project is expected to take place towards the end of this year, with production starting in 2026.

It is planned that the plant will deliver a capacity of at least 25 GWh, with potential to reach 45 GWh.

“Ford continues to ramp up our electric vehicle plans as we scale to be a leader in the electric vehicle revolution,” said Lisa Drake, vice president, Ford EV Industrialization. “We are delivering on the same commitment to produce batteries in the same region where we build electric vehicles. Establishing the new joint venture with LGES and Koç Holding will lay a solid foundation that is fundamental to building a thriving electric vehicle future for Ford in Europe.”

It is further hoped that the new battery plant will provide jobs as local citizens start to rebuild in the aftermath of the Turkish earthquake disaster in February.

Ford Otosan plant in Kocaeli, Turkey (Photo: Ford Motor)

Ford consolidated European production of its Transit range of light commercial vehicles in 2001 at the Otosan plant in Kocaeli, Turkey. The plant is about 360 km from the proposed site of the battery plant. Otosan is operated by Ford Motor and Koç Holding, which is the largest industrial conglomerate in Turkey. According to information from Ford, Koç has an annual turnover which represents 8% of Turkish GDP.

With an annual capacity of about 700,000 units and 450,000 engines, Otosan produces all current models of the Transit for European markets, including the E-Transit, plus the Ford F-Max HGV tractor. The latter is marketed in Eastern Europe, Italy, Spain and Portugal. While Ford has previously shown battery-electric HGV concepts, such as the F-Vision (which was designed at the Ford Otosan plant), the company has not confirmed plans to produce an electric HGV model.

Ford’s F-Vision BE HGV concept was shown at IAA Commercial Vehicle show in 2018

Ford has plans to offer nine EV models by 2024. Of these, five are commercial vehicles, including the Transit Courier, Tourneo Courier, Transit Custom, Tourneo Custom and E-Transit (Tourneo models are primarily passenger window vans). By 2026, the company is targeting annual European EV sales of 600,000 units and total global sales volumes of 2 million units.

According to Ford, production from the new battery site will only be to support vehicle manufacturing in Turkey and also at a new passenger car EV production centre in Cologne, Germany. Battery volumes will not be offered to the wider market.

In March this year, Ford also signed an agreement with PT Vale Indonesia and China’s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt to secure nickel supplies from Indonesia. The material is critical to battery production, particularly the cathode. The partners have formed the Pomalaa Bolck HPAL project, encompassing both mining and processing functions.

Ford is planning to sell only zero-emissions vehicles in Europe by 2035, while also making facilities, logistics operations and suppliers carbon neutral by the same date.