Ford accelerates production on fully-electric vehicles

The leading automotive manufacturer, Ford, is accelerating work on fully-electric vehicles after revealing that significant growth in the market meant it needed to step up its plans, according to BBC News.

Ford is set to invest around $900mn in new production capacity at a plant in Michigan which is expected to create approximately 900 jobs.

It is also anticipated that Ford will begin production of autonomous vehicles in around two years after Head of Global Operations, Joe Hinrichs, revealed the company had taken a “fresh look” at the growth in electric vehicles.

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Having held discussions with Volkswagen about forming a partnership to invest and build electric and autonomous vehicles, talks are understood to have been positive but there is no news to announce.

Speaking to reporters, Mr Hinrichs commented: “When we were taking a look at our $11bn investment in electrification, it became obvious to us that we were going to need a second plant in the not-too-distant future to add capacity for our battery electric vehicles.”

In 2018, Ford confirmed a long-term aim to invest around $11bn in new vehicle technologies.