Ford announced today that it has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with LG Energy Solutions and Koç Holding to form a joint venture battery facility. The trio plans to create Europe’s largest commercial electric vehicle battery cell facility.
The new plant, if it is approved by all three parties, will be built in Başkent, which is near Ankara, Turkey. Although the deal is still non-binding, Ford said it expects to break ground on the facility later this year, with production beginning in 2026.
“Ford continues to ramp up our electric vehicle plans as we scale to be a leader in the electric vehicle revolution,” said Lisa Drake, the VP of Ford EV industrialization. “We are delivering on the commitment to produce batteries in the same region where we build electric vehicles.”
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Ford has longstanding relationships with both LG Energy Solutions and Koç Holding. With the latter, it has worked for almost a century, and the successful Ford Otosan joint venture is now nearly 60 years old.
With LG Energy Solutions, meanwhile, it has worked for more than a decade. Most recently, the South Korean company supplied batteries for Ford’s plant in Poland that went into the Mustang Mach-E and the E-Transit.
“Our long-time business relationship with Ford is the result of our commitment to deliver unmatched product competitiveness, stable yields, and global operational expertise” said Youngsoo Kwon, CEO of LG Energy Solution. “Now joining forces with Ford and Koç in Turkey, we will bring in our leading battery technology to further boost the EV transition in Europe, thereby leading the global initiatives for a more sustainable future.”
Ford plans to sell only electric vehicles in Europe by 2035, a goal that will be facilitated by this new plant. When it opens in 2026, Ford expects it to have an annual production capacity of 25 GWh. That could potentially rise to 45 GWh over time, though.
“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,” said Drake.
