"Ford Motor Co. said it would go big on electric vehicles and last night explained what that means: two new factories in the Southeast to make legions of batteries and up to a million electric pickup trucks a year.
In Stanton, Tenn., currently little more than a gas-station outpost northeast of Memphis, Ford intends to build a "megacampus" covering almost 6 square miles. There it will synthesize batteries from raw materials and build electric pickups of all sizes, the company announced.
And in Glendale, Ky., a white-picket-fence town of 1,700 where the people of Louisville shop for antiques, Ford said it will work with its Korean partner SK Innovation Co., to build two massive battery plants.
"This is a really pivotal moment for us," said Lisa Drake, Ford’s chief operating officer for North America. She added that the company’s $7 billion expenditure is the largest single investment in the company’s history."