Ford is stepping up its game in electric vehicles. The company is betting big on a brand-new platform designed to cut costs and speed up how quickly they can build cars. This move aims to take on Chinese car makers, who currently lead the electric vehicle market with very affordable options.
Ford plans to roll out a universal electric vehicle platform. This new design will be the backbone for a whole fleet of upcoming models. The first vehicle on this platform will be a medium-sized electric pickup truck. It might even bring back the classic “Ranchero” name. The main goal here is to make building cars much simpler. They will use fewer parts. This, in turn, will drop the final price for car buyers.
Lisa Drake, who leads Ford’s technology platform programs and EV systems, has said they want to match the low production costs of Chinese car makers. This new platform is key to Ford’s plans for the next ten years. It’s flexible enough to support many different vehicle types, including family cars with three rows of seats.
Ford wants to offer a five-year ownership cost that is less than a three-year-old used Tesla Model Y. To hit this target, vehicles built on this new platform will have roughly 20% fewer parts than regular cars. They will also need fewer stops on the assembly line. Ford expects to cut production time by about 15%.
One clear example of this simpler approach is how they are handling wiring. The upcoming medium-sized electric pickup, for instance, will have a wiring harness that is 1,200 meters shorter and 10 kilograms lighter than the one in a Mustang Mach-E. This simpler design saves money on materials. It also cuts down on the time and work needed for assembly.
Driving Fun Stays a Priority
Even though Ford is focused on saving money, they promise that performance and driving fun are still very important. The company says new models will have a low center of gravity. This is thanks to where the battery sits. They will also offer instant power from their electric motors. Ford also points to “obsessive chassis engineering” that will make these vehicles enjoyable to drive. Interestingly, Ford noted that the electric pickup truck will have a good amount of downforce. This is something you do not usually hear about with pickup trucks.
Doug Field, Ford’s Director of EV, Digital, and Design, shared his vision. He said Ford took inspiration from the Model T. That was a car for everyone that changed the world. He added that they used basic engineering. They pushed the limits of physics to make the cars fun to drive and affordable. This is not an old-fashioned or overly simple way of doing things, he explained.
The future Ford electric pickup is expected to start at around $30,000. Production is set to begin in 2027 at the Louisville plant. This factory will get a $2 billion upgrade to prepare for the new vehicles.
These new electric cars will use lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells. Ford co-developed these cells with the battery giant CATL. This type of battery is cheaper to make. It also relies less on rare materials like cobalt, unlike NMC batteries (nickel-manganese-cobalt). While LFP batteries might not offer the longest driving range, they come with other perks. These include being more durable and safer.