US President Donald Trump recently announced a raft of new, expensive import tariffs on cars, trucks, and even parts and batteries imported into the country – which means that Ford might have timed its BlueOval SK battery factory going online perfectly.
In Washington last week, President Trump rocked the automotive world by by announcing huge, 25% duties on cars and major automotive components not manufactured in the United States beginning April 2nd.
Over in Kentucky and Tennessee, three BlueOval SK factories, part of a $11.4 billion joint venture (JV) between Ford and the South Korean battery experts at SK On, are under construction. They’re eventually expected to employ more than 7,500 people (approx. 2,500 each) in operations roles, churning out more than 120 gigawatt-hours’ worth of battery capacity per year once at full capacity. And, crucially, they’re expected to go online “at the end of Q1.”
In other words: like, right now.
Good for F-150 Lightning
Automakers and car dealers alike are scrambling to understand what the new Trump tariffs will mean for the market, but some automakers might see the new tariffs as an opportunity to pull ahead of the competition – and that’s especially true of companies that have invested billions in US manufacturing.
Ford is one of those companies, and the newly unionized BlueOval SK battery factories should begin shipping batteries to the Dearborn, Michigan facility that manufactures the F-150 Lightning any day now. That move should give the electric F-series some price insulation that other EVs in the same price range (I’m looking at you, Jeep Wagoneer S) won’t enjoy.
NOTE: BlueOval SK’s comms people reached out about a few corrections and amendments to this post. I’ve included their corrections as a blockquote, below:
None of the three BlueOval SK battery plants are unionized. We are excited about our future and strive to maintain our direct relationship with our employees.
Again, we are on schedule to begin production at the first Kentucky plant in 2025. We have not shared more detailed information regarding the timing for the start of production.
BLUEOVAL SK, VIA EMAIL
The UAW’s page on the matter presents a different picture:
A supermajority of workers at battery maker BlueOval SK filed a petition Tuesday with the National Labor Relations Board for a vote to form their union with the UAW. The election filing at BlueOval SK (BOSK), a new joint venture of Ford and SK On, is the first major filing in the South in 2025 and continues the movement of Southern autoworkers organizing with the UAW.
Now, back to the original article …
Bad for Mustang Mach-E
Ford’s other EV, the Mustang Mach-E, is popular enough that it’s actually outselling the gas-powered Mustang, but it’s lost some of its early luster and market share to other excellent, newer sporty electric crossovers like the Hyundai IONIQ 5, Honda Prologue, and Porsche Macan EV.
This might seem like bad news for the Mach-E, but both the electric Mustang and F-150 have already been on the market for nearly five years – and that’s with minimal upgrades or aesthetic updates outside of an off-road-focused Rally package (shown, above, tearing up the snow in Norway).
Given the surplus production capacity at Ford’s Rouge Electric Vehicle Center, and the imminent launch of EV production at BlueOval City later this year, it’s not completely crazy to think that Ford could soon announce plans to build an updated, or even next-generation Mustang Mach-E at one of these US facilities.
How good would their timing be on that!?
While you think about how you’re going to answer that question in the comments section, use the links below to find 0% financing deals on Ford’s current electric vehicle lineup before the April 2nd day of automotive reckoning. Ford also announced a 0% financing deal plus $4,000 in bonus cash on the F-150 Lightning pickup, while Ford Pro customers buying an F-150 Lightning for their commercial or public fleet can get even better deals on the OG electric trucks.
Happy shopping!
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Original content from Electrek; images by Ford.
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