Ford Gains On Aggressively Pricing EV Truck, JV Plan For Batteries   By Investing.com

By Dhirendra Tripathi

Investing.com – Ford Motor shares (NYSE:F) rose than 3% after twin announcements, that of the company putting a price tag on its new electric truck and the other of it disclosing plans to form a joint venture with a South Korean firm to make batteries.

The base model of the company’s latest electric truck, F -150 Lightning, will carry a tag of $40,000, making it 20% more affordable than the next cheapest truck, the Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Cybertruck. Rivals like the Rivian R1T and the Hummer EV cost a lot more.

Under the other announcement, Ford and SK Innovation have signed an initial pact to create a joint venture, BlueOvalSK, to produce approximately 60 GWh annually in traction battery cells and array modules, starting mid-decade, with potential to expand.

The tie-up with the Korean company, a pioneer in development of mid- to large-size EV batteries since 1991, shows Ford’s seriousness about its EV plans.

Last month, Ford announced a new global battery center of excellence – named Ford Ion Park – to accelerate its battery and battery cell technology research and development – including future battery manufacturing.

Ford is also putting in more equity in Solid Power, a producer of all-solid-state batteries for EVs. Solid-state batteries are showing great promise. They don’t use the liquid electrolyte found in conventional lithium-ion batteries, can be lighter, with greater energy density and provide more range and lower cost.