Ford says nearly half of all its vehicles will be electric by 2030

May 26 (UPI) -- Ford announced on Wednesday that it will raise electric vehicle spending to over $30 billion within five years, and expects 40% of its vehicles to be all-electric by 2030.

The automaker announced the goals Wednesday during a "Delivering Ford+" event. CEO Jim Farley, who took the helm in October, was among senior leaders who expanded on the company's strategy.

"Zero-emission electric vehicles and advanced connectivity are transforming commercial and personal transportation, and Ford is leading that revolution -- with compelling services and platforms based on cutting-edge electrical architectures and battery technologies," Ford said in a statement.

"We will deliver lower costs, stronger loyalty and greater returns across all our customers," Farley added. "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."

Wednesday's event aimed to highlight Blue Oval Intelligence, Ford's cloud-based platform for integrating electrical, power distribution, computing and software systems.

CNBC reported that Ford shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday.

Following its unveiling of the new electric F-150 Lightning pickup a week ago, Ford announced a partnership with South Korean battery maker SK Innovation to produce electric vehicle batteries in the United States. The joint venture will be called BlueOvalSK and production is expected to begin in a few years.

In February, Ford and Google announced a deal to include Android and Google apps and services on Ford and Lincoln vehicles by 2023.

President Joe Biden's administration is pushing to get more electric vehicles on American roads. Biden has proposed spending $174 billion to support electric vehicle manufacturing as part of his American Jobs Plan.