Ford is planning a new $3.5 billion EV battery plant in the United States

San Francisco (IANS) Ford is planning a new $3.5 billion EV battery plant in Marshall, Michigan, United States.

The company will reveal the factory early next week in partnership with China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL). As per the Automotive News.

The CATL manufactures lithium-iron phosphate batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), including the Mustang Mach-E.

According to reports, Michigan has offered $1 billion in incentives to entice the automaker, as the plant is expected to create 2,500 jobs.

According to the Verge, this project is a part of Ford’s efforts to comply with the rules set by the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). It allows EVs assembled in North America to qualify for a $7,500 tax credit.

Ford wanted to bring the battery factory to Virginia as per the reports. Later it sets its sights on Michigan.

The $3.5 billion plant would be in addition to the $11.4 billion investment made by Ford in collaboration with South Korea’s SK Innovation to bring battery and EV factories to Tennessee and Kentucky.

In the meantime, the US-based automaker has sold the vast majority of electric vehicle startup Rivian shares.

Since May 2022, the share price of the EV manufacturer has been progressively dropping, and it is currently at 1.15 percent or 10.5 million shares.

After Ford revealed a $7.3 billion write-down on its stake in Rivian from last year, the stock sale came just one week later.

The value of Rivian’s stock has decreased by about 70% since February 2022.

With a $500 million investment in the budding EV firm, Ford and Rivian’s collaboration officially began in 2019.