Ford & SK On end joint US battery venture

[CD4TNF]

• SK On to focus on energy storage systems amid slowing EV demand
  [*]Ford to fully own Kentucky battery plants post-split
  [*]Tennessee plant to be solely operated by SK On, start timeline not yet decided

https://www.reuters.com/business/au...otor-end-us-battery-joint-venture-2025-12-11/


Big news. Really shows the shift in EV auto manufacturing and suppliers. SK On is following the money in energy storage and there's not money making EV batteries.

Thinking of the timeline for Ford. That gives them 2026 to get the KY battery factory line up and running for a 2027 model year EV based on their Universal Platform.

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[Heliian]

KY battery factory

The first battery rolled off the line in August 2025.

2nd plant is on pause possibly.

 

[GDN]

https://www.reuters.com/business/au...otor-end-us-battery-joint-venture-2025-12-11/


Big news. Really shows the shift in EV auto manufacturing and suppliers. SK On is following the money in energy storage and there's not money making EV batteries.

Thinking of the timeline for Ford. That gives them 2026 to get the KY battery factory line up and running for a 2027 model year EV based on their Universal Platform.

Good riddance to them. If Ford had only partnered with a better company to begin with maybe so many of us wouldn't be having bad battery modules.

 

[02Reaper]

Good riddance to them. If Ford had only partnered with a better company to begin with maybe so many of us wouldn't be having bad battery modules.

Better company like who though?

 

[The Weatherman]

I’ll have to let this sink in before deciding on whether it’s a positive or negative move Ford and the EV industry overall.

 

[MountainAlive]

I wonder what this means for long term warranty support for the existing battery modules. I know ford has to honor the warranties, but if they run out of SK On modules then what?

 

[CD4TNF]

Another article with more info.

Ford keeps both KY battery factories. SK On freed up to sell to more customers like other auto manufacturers and/or the energy storage sector. Ford's projections of EV demand means not needing the battery manufacturing capacity of the TN plant.

https://electrek.co/2025/12/11/ford...y-joint-venture-split-factories-between-them/

 

[WildBlue]

Better company like who though?

I was going to say... Have you seen all of the recalls and defects for LG batteries in other vehicles? The Bolt battery fiasco...LG. SK makes better battery than LG.

 

[Sealevel]

I’ll have to let this sink in before deciding on whether it’s a positive or negative move Ford and the EV industry overall.

Good play on battery - positive or negative.

 

[Kev12345]

Better company like who though?

CATL. Who else?

 

[RocketGhost]

Some local news here isn't reporting the split accurately, they are suggesting that SK On is taking ownership of the entire Blue Oval City complex in TN. They are only taking the battery plant that is on the site. The vehicle assembly plant at BOC remains Ford owned.

The decision makes sense, SK realized that only supplying batteries to Ford won't give it the volume it wants. This frees them up to make batteries for other customers.

 

[02Reaper]

CATL. Who else?

I don't know.....I mean is CATL that much greater at making batteries as anyone else currently, or is it just because they seem to be advancing pretty fast? I'm genuinely asking.

 

[WXman]

Seen in my local news today:

"While Beshear runs for president, he has saddled Kentucky taxpayers with a $250 million-plus disaster.

Today, SK bailed on the BlueOval SK joint venture, handing Ford full ownership of the Glendale battery plants amid collapsing EV sales—Ford's F-150 Lightning sales fell 72% in November alone. One plant began initial operations earlier this year but is running well below capacity; the second is still under construction, with production delayed indefinitely.

Beshear and the GOP legislature rammed through this deal in 2021 and gave Ford:

- $250 million zero-interest forgivable loan

- $36 million in training funds

- $25 million for a college center

- A free 1,551-acre site

Total: over $300 million in taxpayer handouts.

Guess who got the sweet multibillion-dollar construction contract?

Gray Construction—a family-owned firm where Transportation Secretary Jim Gray served as former CEO and chairman before his 2019 cabinet appointment. Partnering with Barton Malow, they’ve poured millions in concrete while Beshear tours the site like it’s his pet project.

Smells like backroom payoffs: appoint a connected insider to the cabinet, then steer state-backed mega-deals their way.

Ford could now dangle its 12,000+ Louisville jobs (Kentucky Truck Plant, Louisville Assembly) over Frankfort’s head, threatening to pull all Kentucky manufacturing unless the loan is forgiven—even if they don’t hit job numbers.

We’ve seen EV hype crash before—GM’s idle $2 billion plants and Michigan’s $237 million ghost factory.

This wasn’t economic development—it’s a raw, dirty backroom deal that’s going to leave Kentuckians holding the bag."

 

[GDN]

Seen in my local news today:

"While Beshear runs for president, he has saddled Kentucky taxpayers with a $250 million-plus disaster.

Today, SK bailed on the BlueOval SK joint venture, handing Ford full ownership of the Glendale battery plants amid collapsing EV sales—Ford's F-150 Lightning sales fell 72% in November alone. One plant began initial operations earlier this year but is running well below capacity; the second is still under construction, with production delayed indefinitely.

Beshear and the GOP legislature rammed through this deal in 2021 and gave Ford:

- $250 million zero-interest forgivable loan

- $36 million in training funds

- $25 million for a college center

- A free 1,551-acre site

Total: over $300 million in taxpayer handouts.

Guess who got the sweet multibillion-dollar construction contract?

Gray Construction—a family-owned firm where Transportation Secretary Jim Gray served as former CEO and chairman before his 2019 cabinet appointment. Partnering with Barton Malow, they’ve poured millions in concrete while Beshear tours the site like it’s his pet project.

Smells like backroom payoffs: appoint a connected insider to the cabinet, then steer state-backed mega-deals their way.

Ford could now dangle its 12,000+ Louisville jobs (Kentucky Truck Plant, Louisville Assembly) over Frankfort’s head, threatening to pull all Kentucky manufacturing unless the loan is forgiven—even if they don’t hit job numbers.

We’ve seen EV hype crash before—GM’s idle $2 billion plants and Michigan’s $237 million ghost factory.

This wasn’t economic development—it’s a raw, dirty backroom deal that’s going to leave Kentuckians holding the bag."

Sounds like you've nailed it, but an honest question, why are Ford and GM bailing if Tesla can still do so well?

 

[WXman]

Sounds like you've nailed it, but an honest question, why are Ford and GM bailing if Tesla can still do so well?

I think the Tesla comparisons aren't fair. Tesla was a brand new start-up with no legacy and no expectations from consumers. And, Telsa has a simple and small portfolio. They focus on one thing and one thing only: EVs for commuting.

Ford and GM and Stellantis are all in a different boat. These are century-old companies that have a reputation for building not only commuter vehicles but also work trucks, SUVs, sports cars, and everything in between. They got rich building ICE vehicles for decades and taylored their factories and processes to it. And then all of a sudden they got the EV bag thrown at them.

To me it's easy to see why there is a discrepancy between Tesla and its competitors. But, I also have ZERO interest in anything Tesla makes as it does not fit my needs or lifestyle.

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