Source: In Reversal, Ford CEO Says Company Exploring EV Battery Production | The Motley Fool A new managerial regime at Ford (NYSE:F) is signaling a new attitude in the carmaker's relationship with electric vehicle (EV) batteries. At the Reuters Automotive Summit, recently installed CEO Jim Farley revealed that the company is now considering producing its own battery cells for the increasingly popular vehicles. "We are discussing [battery] cell manufacturing," he said bluntly in his remarks at the conference, which concluded on Friday. "I think that's natural as [EV] volume grows." . . . That policy differentiated Ford from numerous well-known peers in the automotive sector. For example, the titan of the U.S. industry, General Motors, is devoting piles of capital and resources to such products, while Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA) famously powers its vehicles with Tesla brand batteries (although these are made in partnerships with third-party manufacturers). . . . This is good news although they've stepped into a thicket of technical challenges. For example, the range of kWh/100 miles shows a significant range, 24 kWh to 50 kWh. But if a manufacturer doesn't, they are simply funding the battery makers who are also selling to your competition and making mediocre, over priced, under preforming vehicles. Bob Wilson
I suspect in a couple more years as the screws tighten on Toyota they'll have to concede and make a similar announcement...
Makes one wonder how far Toyota would be ahead, had they not poured all their money down the black hole of hydrogen Lobby, hydrogen R&D, lost incentive money, lost free fuel money etc. .
It is sad that Toyota wasted so much on such a small part of California. The North American continent is such a larger market, Toyota ignored us and sent an irrelevant troll to pester PriusChat. Bob Wilson
Looks promising in Europe at this time, daily new news comes out on the growth of hydrogen in the European markets.
Keep using the word Troll, makes you a superior automotive analyst, not. Toyota does EVERYTHING methodically and there has been no intent to sell FCEV’s outside California at this time. This is by design - you see it as a failure - I see it as a greater plan.
More manufacturers going BEV with their truck lines: Nissan Electric Pickup Reportedly On The Way To Battle Ford F-150 EV
Nissan is a BEV company that has outsold Tesla worldwide. So why change something if it’s working for them.
As of 2019.....so I see Model 3 has now passed the Leaf. Nissan LEAF the best-selling EV in the world, followed by… | Car News | Auto123
They don't need to sell outside California to get those valuable ZEV credits, and they want to lose as little money as possible in making them. Cummins sells BEV and PHEV truck drive trains, plus natural gas ones. They are developing engines that can run on methanol, ethanol, and other spark ignited fuels. Their fuel cell research is just a part of diversifying their products for locomotive and stationary uses. Cummins is looking into both PEM and solid oxide fuel cells. The latter can use fuels besides hydrogen.
gee, if that's true - riddle me this; because even a year ago... model S production - starting ~½ decade after the Leaf .... followed by the X and Y, and not counting the nearly ½ million teslas sold already for 2020? Pushing false sales data is no better or worse, I suppose, then pushing incessant & false hydrogen car practicality. But then maybe in 10 years . . . .
Well, Nissan and Renault did get a head start on sales over Tesla, and the article was written before the Model 3 had a full year of sales. The number 2 when the Leaf was number 1 was the Model S. that's like having the BMW 5 Series be number 2 after the Camry.
When unit counts don’t work, switch to percentages. For example, going from 1 to 2 units sold is a “100% increase.” Bob Wilson
