Automotive News Europe — 2024-06-06
Automotive Industry
The automaker initially said the compact SUV would use NMC batteries, but the company postponed the Explorer's production start for six months to incorporate LFP batteries supplied by China's CATL.
Ford has begun output of its new Explorer full-electric compact SUV at its factory here after the production start was delayed so that the model could use cheaper, more durable lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries supplied by China's CATL.
European automakers have been trying to accelerate the shift toward LFP and away from the more expensive nickel magnesium cobalt (NMC) batteries to become more competitive against Chinese rivals.
Ford had initially said the Explorer would use nickel magnesium cobalt (NMC) batteries but the company postponed the production start for six months to incorporate new battery specifications.
LFP batteries are more resistant to thermal runaway, which leads to fires, and can be charged more often than NMC packs before degrading, Jochen Bruckmann, launch leader final assembly, told journalists at an event to mark the Explorer’s production start on 5 May 2024.
“It was better to wait half a year and launch with the latest, greatest technology,” Bruckmann said. “Otherwise, the first customers would be annoyed they had the old-style batteries.”
Ford has spent $2 bn refitting the Cologne plant to build the Explorer and a second coupe-styled BEV due to be unveiled on 10 July 2024.
Both cars are based on Volkswagen Group’s MEB electric platform and use batteries supplied by VW, which means that VW also will begin using LFP battery chemistry in MEB platform cars.
The cells come from China and are currently assembled into packs at VW Group subsidiary Skoda’s factory in Mlada Boleslav, Czech Republic.
Ford will take over battery pack production in Cologne in the autumn.
Ford will initially launch the Explorer with an 84-kilowatt-hour battery pack to give a range of 602 km (374 miles), making it one of the longest-range vehicles on the VW Group MEB platform. A smaller LFP pack at 55 kWh will be available later in 2024.
VW has announced new versions of the ID7 MEB-based midsize sedan with an 86-kWh battery and a claimed range of up to 709 km. VW did not respond to a question about the chemistry used.
Ford CEO Jim Farley has been vocal about the need to introduce LFP batteries in Ford EVs to cut costs and better compete with Chinese automakers.
The Ford Mach-E midsize SUV is now sold in Europe with an optional LFP battery from CATL in the standard-range model.
Ford last year announced a $3.5 bn investment to build the first automaker-backed LFP battery plant in the US –called BlueOval Battery Park Michigan – due in 2026 using CATL chemistry. Ford has since downgraded the investment.
Meanwhile, Stellantis said last year it aims to build a gigafactory in Europe to produce LFP batteries as part of a possible joint venture with CATL.
Stellantis and Mercedes-Benz Group's joint battery company, ACC, this week (first week of June 2024) said it has stopped construction on sites in Germany and Italy to review the business in light of slowing electric-vehicle sales and high costs.
ACC is looking at whether to introduce LFP battery production at a former Opel plant in Kaiserslautern, Germany, as part of the review, according to ACC CEO Yann Vincent.
CATL is currently building a plant in Hungary. It aims to supply VW, BMW and Mercedes when production starts in 2025.
The Chinese company also has cell plant in Thuringia, Germany, where production started in 2022. The company says it makes both NMC and LFP batteries in Europe.
China’s development of LFP batteries has reduced cell costs and increased its take-up among automakers in the country. In 2023 67% of all Chinese built EVs used LFP batteries, up from 52% in 2021, according to figures from the International Energy Agency.
In Europe, just 6% of new EVs sold used LFP batteries, with the majority using the NMC chemistry.