A Korean battery-maker is ending its partnership with Ford, throwing a trio of Southeast U.S. factories into a state of uncertainty.
The announcement from Korean firm SK On also raises questions about the fate of a $9.6 billion loan that the joint venture, called Blue Oval SK, got from the Biden administration.
American automakers struck partnerships with Korean battery-makers several years ago to up their game at a time when an economywide transition to electric vehicles seemed imminent. General Motors partnered with LG Energy Solution and Ford with SK On, with both carmakers plowing billions of dollars into new joint-venture factories to build EV batteries.
Consumer interest in EVs has since waned, in part because the Trump administration canceled a $7,500 tax incentive this fall. Companies have also shifted their battery manufacturing plans; last year, General Motors sold its stake in a Michigan factory it planned with LG and deepened the joint venture’s focus on developing battery cells.
