WASHINGTON, Sept 28, 2021 (BSS/AFP) - US car manufacturer Ford said Monday

it plans to invest $11.4 billion in electric vehicle production, in a bid to
position itself to lead the United States' shift away from climate-damaging
fossil fuels.

  The company said it will build four new plants to produce electric vehicles
and batteries that will create 11,000 new jobs by 2025.

  Together with its South Korean partner SK Innovation, Ford will build the
factories in Kentucky and Tennessee, the automaker said in a statement.

  Ford will invest $7 billion, part of a $30 billion investment already
announced last spring, and SK Innovation will put up the remainder.

  Ford said it would be the "largest, most advanced, most efficient auto
production complex in its 118-year history" and would place the company at
the forefront of the country's shift to electric vehicles.

  The statement said: "This investment supports the company's longer-term
goal to create a sustainable American manufacturing ecosystem, and to
accelerate its progress towards achieving carbon neutrality, backed by
science-based targets in line with the Paris Climate Agreement."

  The company expects between 40 and 50 percent of its global vehicles to be
fully electric by 2030, according to the statement.

  Executive Chair Bill Ford said, "This is a transformative moment where Ford
will lead America's transition to electric vehicles and usher in a new era of
clean, carbon-neutral manufacturing."

  "With this investment and a spirit of innovation, we can achieve goals once
thought mutually exclusive -- protect our planet, build great electric
vehicles Americans will love and contribute to our nation's prosperity," he
added.

  The announcement came amid strong demand for the company's new F-150
Lightning pickup vehicle and other electric models such as the E-Transit and
the Mustang Mach-E.

  Like its competitor GM, the manufacturer is striving to catch up with
Tesla, the main pioneer of electric cars.

  Ford, which revolutionized automated car production a century ago, said its
rollout would be "the largest ever US investment in electric vehicles at one
time by any automotive manufacturer."

  - 'Good jobs' -

  Under mounting pressure from public opinion, and with customers and
investors increasingly sensitive to environmental concerns, many car
manufacturers have started to turn towards electric vehicles to reduce
harmful emissions.

  Until recently, the shift to electric had not been so marked.

  "We are moving now to deliver breakthrough electric vehicles for the many
rather than the few," said Jim Farley, Ford's CEO.

  Echoing a theme close to President Joe Biden's economic plans, as well as
his determination to transform infrastructure to tackle climate change,
Farley said the investment was "about creating good jobs that support
American families."

  Ford's announcement will give a boost to Biden's Democratic Party, who are
putting their massive infrastructure investment plan of some $1 trillion to a
vote in Congress this week.

  The Democrats want to take steps to tackle climate change, insisting the
switch to a greener economy could create millions of jobs in the future.

  In its original form, the infrastructure plan provided for the construction
of a national network of 500,000 charging stations by 2030 and a switch to
electricity for 20 percent of the country's famous yellow school buses.