Earlier this week, Ford scrapped the fully-electric F-150 Lightning and pivoted away from aggressive EV plans after losing $13 billion on the category since 2023.
As consumer demand wanes and the company plans to take another $19.5 billion hit in Q4, Ford is shifting gears toward extended-range gas-powered vehicles and hybrids.
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The ripple effects throughout the supply chain will be far-reaching, including its $6.5 billion deal with LG Energy Solutions to make some 500,000 batteries per year. According to recent regulatory filings, that deal has been scrapped.
In late 2024, Ford contracted LG to make batteries for about 2.5 million Ford EVs from 2026 through 2030. LG was also going to supply batteries for Ford's commercial vehicle portfolio.
In LG's regulatory filing, Carscoops reported that the company said Ford's decision was the result of "recent policy changes and shifts in EV demand forecasts."
When the federal EV tax credit ended and the current administration eased fuel economy regulations on gas-powered cars, the bottom fell out of the EV market, and automakers are making swift changes.
A previous report on Carscoops says the news comes less than a week after reports that Ford backed out of a massive joint venture with South Korean battery manufacturer SK On to build multiple EV battery factories across the U.S.
In the divorce, SK On gets the BlueOval, the joint venture’s factory in Tennessee, and Ford will take over two factories in Kentucky.
SK On formally ended the partnership, though it still expects to do business with Ford at the Tennessee plant.
The joint venture with SK was scheduled to receive a government loan valued at some $9.6 billion, but that deal will be restructured.
Next, Ford plans to rename and retool its Tennessee Electric Vehicle Center. The Tennessee Truck Plant will now make lower-priced gas-powered trucks.
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