Ford in talks to use BYD batteries for overseas factories
Hybrid sales have grown worldwide as the market for pure EVs has slowed
[DETROIT] Ford Motor is in talks with China’s BYD about potentially supplying batteries for hybrid vehicles to the American automaker’s overseas factories, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.
BYD, the world’s top seller of electric vehicles (EVs), is among several battery suppliers Ford is talking to, said the sources, who asked not to be identified revealing internal discussions. No deal is imminent, they said.
The discussions are aimed at supplying Ford’s international factories with batteries for the automaker’s expanding line of hybrids, the sources said.
The hybrids built in Ford’s overseas factories would be exported worldwide, including to the US, the sources said. But most hybrids Ford sells in the US would continue to come from factories in North America.
BYD did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Ford said the automaker “talks to lots of companies about many things. We do not comment on rumours or speculation about our business”.
Ford has sourced batteries from BYD since 2020 for its joint-venture Chinese factories with state-owned Changan Automobile.
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Hybrid sales have grown worldwide as the market for pure EVs has slowed. Ford is ramping up hybrid production and has plans to roll out more gas-electric models.
At the Detroit Auto Show earlier this week, the American automaker revealed plans to introduce a plug-in hybrid version of its Bronco sport utility vehicle in China. It will utilise extended-range electric vehicle, or EREV, technology, where an internal combustion engine acts as an on-board generator to recharge the battery when the car is in use.
Chief executive officer Jim Farley told reporters on the sidelines of the auto show that there are no plans yet to bring the EREV Bronco to the US, but added: “You should expect a lot of exciting powertrains for Bronco.”
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“We are really accelerating our investment in EREVs and hybrids,” Farley said. “We have been really successful with the F-150 hybrid. Now we want to go across the range with hybrids and EREVs.”
News of Ford’s talks with BYD, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, sent ADRs of the Chinese automaker up 3.6 per cent on Thursday (Jan 15). Ford shares fell less than 1 per cent to close at US$13.81.
The potential deal drew immediate political blowback, with House China Panel chair John Moolenaar saying Ford “should work with our allies, not our adversaries”.
“If reports that Ford is in discussions to potentially partner with a second Chinese battery company were to come true, it would diminish Ford’s status as an iconic American company,” Moolenaar said.
Ford also has a battery deal with China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Limited. BLOOMBERG
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