According to Bloomberg, Ford is negotiating with CATL to build an electric vehicle battery factory in the United States. According to people familiar with the matter, the multi-billion-dollar factory will provide lithium iron phosphate batteries for Ford electric vehicles in the future. The two companies are weighing a new ownership structure, that is, Ford owns 100% of the factory and CATL operates the factory. And has the technology to manufacture batteries. According to such an ownership structure, the battery products produced by the factory can receive production tax credits and do not require direct financial investment from CATL.
CATL said, “With regard to our investment in the United States, there are multiple models under discussion, all of which are purely and solely based on commercial considerations.” Ford said, “Our negotiations with CATL are still continuing, no any new news to be announced.”
Industry insiders said that “if Chinese companies do not produce and assemble in the United States, their products will hardly be sold in the United States. For CATL, the rumored cooperation method is more inclined to technology licensing, which also means that the capital cost of the company will be greatly reduced, and its profitability will be more certain due to its “binding” with Ford.
