Ford Motor and its South Korean battery partner SK Innovation will invest US$11.4 billion (S$15.4 billion) to build an electric F-150 assembly plant, and three battery plants in the United States, accelerating the No. 2 US automaker's push into electric vehicles.

Ford also said on Monday (Sept 27) it now expects to have 40 percent to 50 percent of its global vehicle volume to be all-electric by 2030, up from its prior forecast of 40 percent.

The companies intend to create nearly 11,000 jobs by opening assembly and battery plants in Stanton, Tennessee, and two additional battery factories in Glendale, Kentucky, as part of Ford's previously announced plan to spend more than US$30 billion through 2030 on electrification, Ford said. Plants on both sites will open in 2025.

The Tennessee assembly and battery complex will be about three times the size of Ford's sprawling, century-old Rouge manufacturing complex in Dearborn, Michigan, Ford North American chief operating officer Lisa Drake told Reuters in an interview. She emphasised there will be room to expand on that site.

"For us, this is a very transformative point where we are putting our capital in place now in a very big way to lead the transition to EVs," Ms Drake said.

Ford also said it will separately spend US$525 million over the next five years to fund job training and career readiness initiatives for US auto technicians to help prepare for the shift to EVs. That programme begins in Texas, where Ford is spending US$90 million alone.