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Ford has resumed construction of its electric vehicle battery park in Marshall, Michigan, but on a smaller scale, the company announced Tuesday.
The announcement comes about two months after the auto manufacturing titan halted construction and decided to limit spending at the Marshall site. At the time, a spokesman said there were “a number of considerations” behind the decision.
Ford has since reevaluated the plan to ensure the automaker could operate the plant economically, TR Reid, Ford’s director of corporate communications and public policy, told Manufacturing Dive.
Those considerations include labor costs and government incentive programs, Reid said.
But the main consideration is the growth rate of customers buying electric vehicles, Reid said. Although Ford’s electric vehicle sales are up 44% year over year in the third quarter, the rate of electric vehicle adoption is not happening as fast as companies like General Motors had previously predicted. So Ford is adjusting accordingly, Reid said.
“We’re bullish on electric vehicles,” Reid said. “Demand continues to grow strongly, albeit at a slower pace than expected.”
Everything will be reduced, including the planned initial investment of $3.5 billion, which Reid said Ford is still doing the math on.
Instead of the previously announced 2,500 jobs and 35 gigawatt-hours of annual battery capacity, the upcoming Marshall plant will create 1,700 jobs and produce 20 GWh of annual battery capacity.
The company made enough changes to run the plant economically but on the same schedule. The automaker still expects the Marshall plant to begin producing lithium iron phosphate batteries in 2026.
The Marshall EV battery plant wasn’t the only Ford site to halt construction. The automaker delayed construction of one of its Kentucky battery plants last month.
