Ford and SK On are ending their U.S. battery joint venture
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In Brief Posted: 8:11 AM PST · December 11, 2025 Image Credits:Ford Kirsten Korosec Ford and SK On are ending their U.S. battery joint venture Four years ago, Ford and South Korean battery maker SK On struck a deal to form a joint venture and spend $11.4 billion to build factories in Tennessee and Kentucky that would produce batteries for the next generation of electric F-Series trucks. The factories live on; the joint venture will not. SK On, a subsidiary of SK Innovation, said Thursday it reached an agreement with Ford to end the joint venture. The two companies will divide the assets: Ford will take ownership and operation of the twin battery plants in Kentucky, while SK On will operate the factory at the massive BlueOval SK campus in Tennessee. SK On said it will maintain a strategic partnership with Ford centered on the Tennessee plant, according to Bloomberg. When reached for comment, a Ford spokesperson told TechCrunch the company was aware of SK’s disclosure and had nothing further to share at this time. The joint venture was created when the industry was investing billions of dollars to ramp up electric vehicle production. While EV sales have risen over the past several years, demand has not kept up with the industry’s lofty projections. The end of the federal EV tax credit has also dampened the pace of sales. Techcrunch event Join the Disrupt 2026 Waitlist Add yourself to the Disrupt 2026 waitlist to be first in line when Early Bird tickets drop. Past Disrupts have brought Google Cloud, Netflix, Microsoft, Box, Phia, a16z, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Hugging Face, Elad Gil, and Vinod Khosla to the stages — part of 250+ industry leaders driving 200+ sessions built to fuel your growth and sharpen your edge. Plus, meet the hundreds of startups innovating across every sector. Join the Disrupt 2026 Waitlist Add yourself to the Disrupt 2026 waitlist to be first in line when Early Bird tickets drop. Past Disrupts have brought Google Cloud, Netflix, Microsoft, Box, Phia, a16z, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Hugging Face, Elad Gil, and Vinod Khosla to the stages — part of 250+ industry leaders driving 200+ sessions built to fuel your growth and sharpen your edge. Plus, meet the hundreds of startups innovating across every sector. San Francisco | October 13-15, 2026 WAITLIST NOW Topics TC, Transportation Dates TBD Locations TBA Plan ahead for the 2026 StrictlyVC events. Hear straight-from-the-source candid insights in on-stage fireside sessions and meet the builders and backers shaping the industry. Join the waitlist to get first access to the lowest-priced tickets and important updates.
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