Four years ago, Ford and South Korean battery maker SK On reached an agreement to form a joint venture spend $11.4 billion To build factories in Tennessee and Kentucky that will produce batteries for the next generation of electric F-Series trucks.
Factories remain; There will be no joint venture.
SK Innovation subsidiary SK On said on Thursday it has reached an agreement with Ford to end the joint venture. The two companies will split assets: Ford will own and operate twin battery plants in Kentucky, while SK will operate the factory at the massive BlueOval SK campus in Tennessee.
SK On said it will maintain a strategic partnership with Ford focused on the Tennessee plant. according to bloomberg,
When contacted for comment, a Ford spokesperson told TechCrunch that the company was aware of SK’s disclosures and had nothing to share at this time.
The joint venture was formed as the industry was investing billions of dollars to ramp up electric vehicle production. Although EV sales have grown over the past several years, demand has not kept up with the industry’s lofty projections. The expiration of federal EV tax credits has also slowed the pace of sales.
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