Ford Stock Leaps On $11.4 Billion F-150, Battery Factory Investment Boost
Ford (F) - Get Free Report shares powered higher Tuesday after the carmaker unveiled plans to build four new U.S.-based manufacturing plants as it accelerates its transition into clean-energy vehicles.
Ford, along with its Korea-based partner SK Innovation, will invest $11.4 billion into the construction of three battery plants, as well as an assembly facility dedicated to the electric F-150, that it says will create 11,000 new jobs in Tennessee and Kentucky.
Ford also boosted its forecast for electric vehicle production, and now expects that between 40% and 50% of its global vehicle volumes will be all electric by 2030, up from its spring estimate of 40%.
"This is a transformative moment where Ford will lead America’s transition to electric vehicles and usher in a new era of clean, carbon-neutral manufacturing,” said Ford's executive chairman Bill Ford. "With this investment and a spirit of innovation, we can achieve goals once thought mutually exclusive – protect our planet, build great electric vehicles Americans will love and contribute to our nation’s prosperity.”
Ford shares were marked 3.5% higher in early trading Tuesday to change hands at $14.66 each, a move that would extend the stock's six-month gain to around 20%.
Earlier this year, Ford said it will up its investment in EVs to at least $30 billion by 2025, and will create a new division called "Ford Pro" that will focus on commercial vehicles and government customers.
It also unveiled a commercial version of its popular all-electric F-150 Lightning truck, the F-150 Lightning Pro, with a base price of just under $40,000, a figure that pegs it largely in-line with Tesla's (TSLA) - Get Free Report planned cybertruck, during a visit to a production facility in Dearbon, Michigan from President Joe Biden.
