Ford’s EV Battery Plant May Add Nissan to Client List
[Stay on top of transportation news: .]
Nissan Motor Co. is nearing a deal to procure electric vehicle batteries in the U.S. from a joint venture between Ford Motor Co. and South Korea’s SK On, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Japanese automaker wants to source batteries in the U.S. in part to avoid President Donald Trump’s tariffs, said the people, who asked not to be identified revealing internal deliberations. For Ford and SK On, a supply deal with Nissan would help boost production amid a slowdown in EV sales, they said.
A new Ford-SK factory in Kentucky, known as BlueOvalSK, has emerged as the frontrunner to build the batteries for Nissan, though a final decision hasn’t been made, one of the people said.
The talks reflect two crosscurrents roiling the auto industry — the cost of the 25% tariff Trump has imposed on imported cars and auto parts and slackening demand for EVs that’s pushing automakers to scale back ambitious plans for battery-powered models.
Ford is reducing its EV spending by $12 billion and canceled a big electric sport-utility vehicle as it pivots to smaller, more affordable EVs coming in 2027. Nissan said in March it is looking to source batteries in the U.S. from SK On for a new EV it plans to build at its assembly plant in Canton, Mississippi, beginning in 2028.
By taking on Nissan as a customer, Ford and SK On can more fully utilize the Kentucky battery plant that is just starting up, the people said. The facility will initially supply the American automaker’s E-Transit electric commercial van, which sells in small numbers.
Nissan, SK On and Ford declined to comment on the potential deal. Ford said the goal for its EV unit is to create “a capital efficient business and domestic supply chain for electric vehicles that will support American jobs.”
The Wall Street Journal earlier reported the potential deal.
Ford is seeking to reduce EV losses that reached $5.1 billion last year and could hit $5.5 billion this year. The carmaker and SK On received a $9.2 billion loan from the US Department of Energy in 2023 to build three battery factories in Kentucky and Tennessee. As EV sales growth slowed, Ford and SK On last year put a second planned battery plant in Kentucky on hold.
Ford also has said it expects a $2.5 billion hit from tariffs this year, which it believes it can reduce by $1 billion.
Want more news? Listen to today's daily briefing belowor go here for more info:
