LGES Ford EV battery plant axed

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【Summary】LG Energy Solution (LGES) and Ford have canceled plans to build an EV battery plant in Turkey after their local partner, Koc Holding, withdrew from the project. The decision was made due to concerns over the rate of EV adoption in Europe and the current economic slowdown in the region. LGES stated that this would not affect its ability to supply Ford, as it has a global capacity of 200 GWh per year.

FutureCar Staff Nov 13, 2023 5:18 AM PT

South Korea's LG Energy Solution (LGES) and Ford have decided to cancel their plans to build an electric vehicle (EV) battery plant in Turkey. This comes after their local partner Koc Holding withdrew from the project. Last February, the three companies signed a preliminary agreement to construct a battery plant in Baskent, near Ankara. The plant was expected to have an initial production capacity of 25 gigawatt hours (GWh) by 2026, with plans to expand to 45 GWh later on, enough to power 500,000 EVs.

The output from the battery plant was intended to supply Ford's Transit commercial van plant in Turkey, which has the capacity to produce 450,000 units annually for local sales and exports to Europe. However, Koc Holdings decided to pull out of the deal due to concerns over the rate of EV adoption in Europe and the current economic slowdown in the region.

This recent cancellation replaces an earlier agreement between Ford and SK On to build a battery plant in Turkey, which was also scrapped last January due to rising interest rates and other costs. Despite Koc's withdrawal, LGES assured that its global capacity of 200 GWh per year from its facilities in South Korea, Poland, China, and the US will not be affected, and it will still be able to supply Ford.

Furthermore, LGES announced that it has a battery order backlog worth KRW385trn (US$291m) from global automakers as of the end of 2022.