Ford (F) and SK Innovation are joining forces as they seek to scale up battery cell deliveries for electric vehicles. The two have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to form BlueOvalSK, a joint venture tasked with developing battery cells and arrays in the U.S.
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The two companies plan to produce about 60 GWh in traction battery cells and array modules annually as part of the strategic collaboration. They also plan to come up with battery cells that that can enhance performance.
“This MoU is just the start; it’s a key part of our plan to vertically integrate key capabilities that will differentiate Ford far into the future,” said Ford CEO, Jim Farley. “We will not cede our future to anyone else.”
The joint venture’s next-generation battery cells and arrays will be used to power several ford electric vehicles. According to SK Innovation CEO Kim Jun, the joint venture will play a pivotal role in fuelling the development of electric cars in the U.S.
By 2030, Ford has set out to produce at least 240 Gigawatt hours of battery cell capacity. While 140GWh will be dedicated to the North American market, the remaining is for China and Europe, and other regions.
The automaker is looking to play a pivotal role in the electric vehicle revolution. It plans to invest at least $22 billion through 2025 to deliver all-electric cars. (See Ford stock analysis on TipRanks)
Tudor Pickering analyst Jeoffrey Lambujon has reiterated a Buy rating on the stock buoyed by Ford’s turnaround story.
“As evidenced by significant improvements to EBIT margins in Q1’21, the global redesign initiatives that were announced in 2017 have been working. While this year will be negatively impacted by both commodity headwinds and the global semiconductor shortage, we are above consensus on FY’22,” said Lambujon.
The analyst has a $17 price target on the stock, implying 36.11% upside potential to current levels.
Consensus among analysts on Wall Street is a Moderate Buy based on 8 Buy, 6 Hold, and 1 Sell ratings. The average analyst price target of $13.83 implies 10.73% upside potential to current levels.
Ford scores a 9 out of 10 on TipRanks’ Smart Score rating system, implying that the stock is likely to outperform market expectations.
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