Ford's low-cost EV is aimed at fighting the efforts of China and Tesla. Ford's EV program did not go as planned. Crosstown rival General Motors has been racing to become the 2nd best-selling EV brand in the U.S. after Tesla. And while Ford's 2 major consumer products, the F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E, are powerful products, they are not providing the benefits that Ford still wants and are aging. In fact, the F-150 Lightning, America's best-selling electric pickup, has been discontinued.
In addition, Ford CEO Jim Farley noted that China is leading in the EV race, and that if the country's affordable electrical options came within the state, or perhaps at any time, they would not be able to do so. Now Ford needs a new EV developed from scratch, designed to challenge its competitors by being more affordable. In its Q2 earnings announcement, Farley said Ford will reveal more details about future EVs in August. The new platform will be a "model T moment" for the brand, Farley said, adding that as competition grows, the company will push the reset button EV.
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What was revealed was somewhat anti-climate, with automakers focusing on innovative new manufacturing processes that allowed them to build EVs from just 3 large parts. These gigacastings travel along a separate assembly line and are combined just before the end of the building process. All this is made possible by a new platform developed by a small "skunkworks" team called the Universal EV platform. The first model to use this new architecture is a medium-sized pickup that provides more interior space than the Toyota RAV4, according to Ford CEO Jim Farley, which is without a track bed and front trunk. Followed by the 2nd model, which is a compact crossover.
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The Skunkworks team was formed in 2021 and includes numerous hired talents from EV brands such as Tesla, Rivian and Lucid. Ford has been quite tight-lipped about the technical details of its EV project, but according to the Ford CEO, there is also a 'new silhouette' in the shape of the rear-wheel drive and the 'super fun to drive' vehicle, which is a bit puzzling, but after all, it will look like a car like the F-150 and will look like the F-150. This is not the case. In terms of size, we expect the upcoming electric pickup to be similar to Maverick. Separately, the company states that it is bringing the next-generation electric truck codenamed “Project T3” is finally postponed.
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They do not know the Ford of affordable EVs.
Unlike Ford's previous efforts, we know that Ford has not deliberately done everything to big batteries for this platform. Farley believes the future of Ford's EVs is based on volume and low cost, and one of the ways to keep costs down and make prices cheaper is to limit the size of the battery. A larger battery means a higher price because it's the most expensive part of an EV. EV buyers are price-sensitive, and the reduced cruising range of large batteries and the associated rising costs won't take buyers behind the wheel as the brand thinks.
The platform that underpins Ford's future EVs is small, with only about 100 people, many of whom are made up of talent from various EV startups. Farley says the team is ruthlessly focused on cost and efficiency. It sees Tesla and Chinese EVs as the "ultimate competition”. He also dropped a bomb last year and revealed on a fully charged show podcast that he was driving a Xiaomi SU7 sedan imported from China. We know that unlike the Mach-E and Lightning, which are adapted from the gas car platform, the new truck will be built entirely from scratch.
What does a Ford affordable EV look like?
That's something we don't know yet. Ford's EV lineup can follow themes like the Mach-E. It can also be styled in line with Ford's European EVs, like the new Capri and Explorer EVs. Given that it is a new platform that will support Ford's future EVs, it has the potential to take a variety of forms. During the so-called "model T moment," there's no grille that gives us a very easy glimpse of what we believe to be the front fascia of Ford's new mid $30,000 medium-sized truck, but that's what you'd expect of an EV that doesn't require a large radiator in front to cool the engine.
Again, we know that the EV is an EV platform and requires several body styles, such as a small crossover or a medium-sized pickup truck. Recently, Farley explained that Ford's low-cost Ev will focus on "work and adventure" and that the platform will be "leveraged among many top hats," so many products can be expected for multiple types of customers. There's also talk on EVs that focuses on ride-share customers; perhaps Ford is developing something similar to the BYD D1 or Kia Niro Plus.
What about performance, charge and range?
Ford has little to say about the range targets for low-cost EVs. But once again, it is adamant that none of them have super-sized batteries. Don't expect a battery of 200 kWh or more or a nearly 1,000 hp setup that you've seen on GM's Ultium platform trucks like the GMC Hummer EV. The Blue Oval automaker said it is aiming for a battery capacity that is about 15 percent smaller than the Chinese-made BYD Atto electric crossover. Atto3 has 60.5kWh of usable energy, so the American company's new pickup is expected to have about 51 kWh of usable energy.
As Doug Field, Ford's head of EVs, confirmed, rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive setups and multiple battery options will be available, and the electric motors will be developed and built in-house by Ford. The rear drive unit is a permanent magnet motor, while the AWD model adds an induction motor that drives the front axle. We visited the Blue Oval Battery Park in Michigan to begin manufacturing low-cost lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries after 2026 and to license the technology from China's CATL. The plant is expected to create 1,700 manufacturing jobs a year, produce about 20 gigawatt-hours of LFP batteries and power about 250,000 EVs. Ford's EVs have natively integrated NACS ports, which may allow access to the Tesla supercharger at release.
When will Ford's affordable EV go on sale?
Ford has not provided an exact sales date for the new EV project, but the automaker said it plans to launch in 2027, "to cater to customers who want more range, more utility and more usability". The Dearborn automaker has confirmed that a new family of affordable EVs will be built at an assembly plant in Louisville. It has acquired a $2 billion upgrade.
The development is in full swing, and the Ford CEO said in an interview that the entire project "is literally like an Apollo or Gemini mission within Ford". "All the parts have been quoted and designed, and now we are deeply committed to renovating our manufacturing facility," Farley said. "We stopped the escape production. We have Mega casting machine up and running now. We are now building a prototype with our own zonal electric architecture software that controls the vehicle. I was so excited to see the vehicle spinning and stopping in Ford's software the silicon we designed and spec."
Farley said in Ford's 2024 Q2 earnings call that the price of the cheapest product on the platform will be less than $30,000, but that this is not necessarily the price point for a medium-sized EV truck. With Trump's tariffs, it will be hard to reach that price target. If so, the crossover should be directly comparable to new, more affordable products like the 2026 Chevrolet Bolt EUV, Jeep Renegade, Kia EV3, and perhaps Tesla's smaller, cheaper new models — and of course, whatever comes our way from China.
The Tesla Cybertruck, Rivian R1T and Chevy Silverado EV have all been discontinued over $60,000, while the decommissioned Ford F-150 Lightning opened at $55,000. Ford can see openings to undercut them all in cheaper models — a move that could give it a serious edge if it manages to deliver. And it will be its real test.
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