"Ford announced an additional equity investment in Solid Power for further development of solid-state vehicle battery technology and is also moving towards producing their own EV batteries. "
By Allan R. Kirby
Ford Motor (Ford) Highlights:
Ford announced an additional equity investment in Solid Power for further development of solid-state vehicle battery technology, aiming to deliver longer range, lower cost, and safer electric vehicles for customers
This investment builds on Ford’s 2019 investment, expanding the strategic partnership to test, pilot and scale solid-state battery cells and arrays and help accelerate their availability in future Ford EVs
With this investment round, Ford and the BMW Group are equal equity owners, and representatives from each company will join Solid Power’s board
Both automakers (Ford and the BMW Group ) also have separate joint development agreements with Solid Power to develop and test its battery technology so each can meet the independent engineering and manufacturing requirements of their respective future vehicles
Ford’s newest Solid Power investment is in addition to the company’s previously announced $22 billion global investment in connected, electrified vehicles through 2025; it builds on Ford’s Tuesday announcement that it is creating a new global battery center of excellence. Source
Solid-State Batteries:
Ford Motor Company is growing its investment in Solid Power, an industry-leading producer of all-solid-state batteries for EVs. Initially investing in Solid Power in 2019, Ford is making an additional equity investment to help accelerate further development of solid-state vehicle battery technology, contributing to a $130 million Series B investment round in which the BMW Group becomes an equal equity owner with Ford.
“Solid-state battery technology is important to the future of electric vehicles, and that’s why we’re investing in it directly as well as accelerating Ford’s in-house R&D on next-generation battery technology,” said Hau Thai-Tang, Ford's chief product platform, and operations officer. “Leveraging the speed of a startup and the expertise of some of the most seasoned battery experts in the world at Ford, we’re exploring different ways to power tomorrow’s fun-to-drive all-electric vehicles, using proven development and manufacturing processes.” Source
Additional Investing in Battery Lab:
Ford has also recently announced plans to invest $185 million into a new battery lab, which is considered a first step toward building its own batteries for EV's. This is good news over the long term as it will ensure Ford becomes less reliant on suppliers of EV batteries, a similar direction both Tesla and General Motors have taken. Although late to start, this will serve ford well and shows that Ford CEO Jim Farley, is taking the company in a new direction to better ramp up EV production, which is part of Ford’s plans to spend $22 billion on EV by 2025.
Is Ford's stock a buy?
There is a lot to like with Ford and it appears they are on the right path to success. By focusing on EV and autonomous driving, improving the customers' experience with infotainment, and a drive to become a highly profitable ESG company, this could be a good investment. Recently Ford has been hit with several positive upgrades such as Argus with a buy rating and a $14 price target. The upgrade appears to show that some Wall Street analysts are also changing their minds on the company as well.
Read More: 3 Top Electric Vehicle (EV) ETFs to buy!
Although the company is in transition it's clearly creating a solid path to shift production to Electric Vehicles and adjust to the changing consumer demands. This stock will likely continue to get rerated as a result of this transition and appears to be a solid company to invest in over the longer term. In fact, the recent drop in price as a result of production cuts announced due to the ongoing chip shortage could be considered an opportunity to "buy the dip" in Ford.
Stocks to buy is a segment of the MySmallBank.com blog written by Allan R Kirby, who writes and produces Personal Finance articles and videos.
Disclosure: mysmallbank.com nor the author received any compensation from the mentioned security for this article. The article is our opinion only and is written to help readers learn more about the stock mentioned in this article. Consider this as basic information only and utilize professional services and additional sources before making an investment decision. #ford #money #investing #stockstobuy
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