Ford CEO on EV transition: Batteries are the constraint
Companies such as Ford (F) are collectively pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into electric vehicles (EVs). But as the industry transitions toward zero carbon emissions, battery supply chains could stand in the way of those ambitions. “First of all, batteries are the constraint here,” Ford CEO Jim Farley told Yahoo Finance Live (video above). “Both lithium and nickel are really the key constraining commodities. We normally get those from all over the world — South America, Africa, Indonesia. We want to localize that in North America, not just the mining but the processing of the materials.” Farley pointed out that even raw metals mined in the U.S. often get sent back to China to be processed, something the U.S. is actively trying to counter through grants and additional investments. “The big change is going to be onshore all that capability of processing but also mining back in the U.S.” Farley added. “It will be a huge job, just like it has for semiconductors.” In 2021, electric vehicles made up about 10% of all vehicle sales globally, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). By 2030, BloombergNEF projects that half of all U.S. car sales will be EVs, spurred on by Inflation Reduction Act tax