Ford and LG will build battery plants in Turkey

Ford has made a big bet on the electrification of the European market by partnering with LG Energy Solutions to build a new battery plant in Turkey. The two sides have signed a memorandum of understanding with Turkey's KOC Group, a private Fortune 500 company, to form a new joint venture.

Ford aims to build Europe's largest commercial automotive battery plant, which will be located in the Baskent industrial area near Ankara, Turkey. The new facility is expected to break ground later this year and is scheduled to open in 2026. The production capacity of the new plant is expected to reach 25GWh per year and 45GWh in the future.

Ford has a close relationship with both companies. Ford has worked with KOC Group for decades and formed the Ford Otosan joint venture; Ford is also old friends with LG, which supplies batteries for Ford's electric horses at a factory in Poland.