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Ford says it will invest $30 billion in electric vehicles by 2025

26 May 2021
Dan Ackermann

Ford announced Wednesday plans to invest $30 billion in vehicle electrification efforts by 2025, and the company said it anticipates that 40% of its global sales by 2030 will be fully electric vehicles, per a news release.

Why it matters: Ford CEO Jim Farley said the new initiative — called "Ford+" — is the company's largest opportunity for growth since "Henry Ford started to scale the Model T," signaling just how lucrative Ford leaders think the electric vehicle market will become.

  • As part of the initiative, Ford plans to invest in battery technology and infrastructure that would allow it to manufacture its own batteries.
  • It would include the creation of Ford Ion Park, "a global center of battery excellence comprising more than 150 experts in battery chemistries, testing, manufacturing and value-chain management who will boost battery range and lower costs to customers and Ford," the company said.

Context:Ford previously announced that it would invest $22 billion in electrification efforts by 2025.

What they're saying: “I’m excited about what Ford+ means for our customers, who will get new and better experiences by pairing our iconic, world-class vehicles with connected technology that constantly gets better over time,” Ford CEO said.

  • “We will deliver lower costs, stronger loyalty and greater returns across all our customers. This is our biggest opportunity for growth and value creation since Henry Ford started to scale the Model T, and we’re grabbing it with both hands," he added.

The big picture: The announcement comes a week after the company unveiled the Ford F-150 Lightning, an all-electric version of America's most popular vehicle model, the Ford F-series pickup truck.

  • The company said it expects the bulk of its electric vehicle sales by 2030 will come from the F-150 Lightning, the Mustang Mach-E and E-Transit commercial vans.

Go deeper:Ford's electric F-150 reveal is a pivotal EV moment

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.