Ford Motor mentioned Thursday that it has secured 100% of the battery provides wanted to ship electrical automobiles at a price of 600,000 per yr by the top of 2023 – and that Chinese language battery large Modern Amperex Expertise will assist it get to a price of two million EVs per yr by 2026, whereas lowering the prices of a few of Ford’s hottest electrical fashions.

Traders and Wall Road analysts have questioned whether or not international automakers like Ford will be capable to supply the batteries and uncooked supplies wanted to hit their bold EV gross sales targets. Ford’s bulletins had been half of a bigger presentation supposed to indicate that it has already secured a lot of the provides it would want.

“Ford’s new electrical car lineup has generated large enthusiasm and demand, and now we’re placing the commercial system in place to scale shortly,” Ford CEO Jim Farley mentioned in an announcement. “Our Mannequin e group has moved with velocity, focus and creativity to safe the battery capability and uncooked supplies we have to ship breakthrough EVs for thousands and thousands of consumers.”

“Ford Mannequin e” is the corporate’s electric-vehicle division.

Ford mentioned that it’ll start providing automobiles with lower-cost lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries from Modern Amperex, higher referred to as CATL. Whereas LFP batteries present considerably shorter vary per pound than Ford’s present batteries, in addition they price about 10% to fifteen% much less, Ford mentioned – and they’ll scale back the corporate’s reliance on minerals resembling nickel which can be anticipated to be briefly provide over the subsequent few years.

Ford will start providing its Mustang Mach-E with CATL-supplied LFP battery packs subsequent yr, and can increase the choice to its F-150 Lightning pickup truck in early 2024.

On the similar time, Ford will lean on its present battery suppliers, the Korean firms LG Power Resolution and SK On, to satisfy its late-2023 manufacturing targets and to assist it get to a minimum of 2 million EVs per yr by 2026.

Ford mentioned as of now, it has already secured about 70% of the battery capability wanted to assist that latter objective. The automaker has signed a non-binding memorandum with CATL to discover a bigger relationship that would make up a lot of the remaining floor, it mentioned.