By Jeffrey A. Newman Esq.
The Ford Motor Company is a taking a lesson from Victorinox Co, maker of the Swiss Army Knife which laterally expanded its business based on its knife success and the needs of its consumers. Now Victorinox produces high quality products with the same logo as its historic knives. Ford Motor Company has announced a shift away from large electric vehicles and is expanding its product line to the battery storage business. The storage systems that will use LFP batteries will be used to power data centers which is a significant need.
Ford will invest about $2 billion into the new business over the next two years. Under the plan, Ford will repurpose the existing manufacturing capacity at its Kentucky factory. Ford plans to produce lithium iron phosphate batteries using technology licensed from China’s CATL as well as battery energy storage system modules, and 20-foot DC container systems at this facility.
Ford’s BlueOval Battery Park Michigan in Marshall, which is slated to begin production of LFP batteries in 2026, is still on track, the company said. Those LFP batteries, which also use CATL tech, will be used in Ford’s upcoming mid-sized electric truck. There will be one adjustment at the Michigan factory, however. Ford said it will also be used to make smaller Amp-hour cells for use in residential energy storage solutions.
Ford is ending production of the fully-electric F-150 Lightning the company announced Monday. In its place, Ford will sell what’s known as an “extended range electric vehicle” version of the truck, which adds a gas generator that can recharge the battery pack to power the motors for over 700 miles.
In the context of our competition from China in terms of the US need for electricity to run its data centers, critical for AI development, Fords decisions are positive inflection points. Why? Because American industries, especially opur auto manufacturers have lagged in terms of development to meet the needs and not the previous wishes of American consumers. This is a lesson we need to learn from China. If our nation is to resurface anew and especially in light of AI and quantum computing, Ford’s new thinking is critical. We can focus on our strengths–innovation and cut back antiquated lines of products. In that way can focus on controlling our economy by burning down our debts and evolve new ways of doing business in this new world.
Jeffrey Newman is a whistleblower lawyer, whose law firm represents whistleblowers revealing violations of export controls, tariff evasions, money laundering, healthcare fraud and other kinds of WB cases. The firm represents individuals both in the United States and other countries. Mr. Newman and his firm also represent physicians and other healthcare providers who become whistleblowers in healthcare fraud cases. Whistleblower laws in the U.S. allow individuals anywhere with information about export control violations or tariff fraud to reveal the information under The False Claims act or through the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Whistleblower Program. The Firm’s website is at www.JeffNewmanLaw.com and attorney Newman can be reached at Jeff@Jeffnewmanlaw.com or at 617.823.3217
