Ford’s ambitions for the electric vehicle market take a new direction with the company’s big goal to produce prototypes with this technology.
The automotive giant’s CEO, Jim Farley, expects the brand to become the second largest producer of electrified cars in the United States behind Tesla in just two years, not taking into account the significant increase to manufacturing that the Blue Oval City EV complex in Tennessee may bring about.
Specifically, Ford plans to increase its EV production capacity to 600,000 units globally by 2023. Farley said the new challenge would double the number of cars that the company had initially expected to produce over the next 24 months.
Models on Schedule
Manufacturing is slated to be split among Ford’s first three electric vehicles: the Mustang Mach-E, F-150 Lightning and E-Transit. Production would take place once operation begins at the newly announced assembly plant.
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“The demand is much higher than we expected. It’s a really new experience for this large company, which is trying to be agile. We had to approach it very differently than how we’ve done capacity planning,” Farley explained.
In relation to increasing electric vehicle capacity, the executive said Ford has a vision of converting more than 80 percent of reservation holders of its upcoming F-150 Lightning EV into owners. Accordingly, the company details that more than 160,000 deposits have been made requiring a fully refundable $100 transaction for the car prior to its arrival at dealerships in mid-2022.
While it is true that estimates indicate that Ford would be in second place among electric car manufacturers, it is necessary to take into account the proposal of General Motors, which has among its main plans the sale of one million models worldwide by 2025.
Written by I Jhonattan González
