$30,000 and a battery in the floor: what Ford's new electric pickup will be like
Ford has decided to play into affordable car nostalgia and is pouring $5 billion into Louisville, Kentucky, and Michigan's BlueOval battery complex, creating the Universal EV platform and a new four-door electric pickup for around $30,000. By comparison, that's like half a base Rivian R1T - and without having to take out a mortgage on the wheels. Production is scheduled for 2027.
The pickup promises to be snazzier than a Mustang EcoBoost, roomier than a Toyota RAV4, with a boot in the front ("frunk") and a traditional boot in the back. A lithium-iron-phosphate battery will become part of the floor, lowering the centre of gravity and extending life - plus a saving of a couple of thousand dollars per component.
Ford's universal electric vehicle platform. Illustration: Ford
Context
Inside Ford's factories, it's a small industrial revolution: 20% fewer parts, 27% shorter wiring harnesses, and minus 40% fewer assembly stations on the line. It's no longer Henry Ford's conveyor belt, but rather a "conveyor sprinter": speed has increased by 15%.
Competitors are not slumbering: Tesla Cybertruck remains a "tank on wheels", Rivian R1T - a "premium gadget with a body", and Ford is going to play in mass, as in 1908 with Model T. Then the company took farmers out on the roads, now it wants to take city dwellers out in electric pickups - without the petrol smell, but with an outlet instead of a canister.
CEO Jim Farley calls it "the Model T moment" and sees the project as the answer to China's growing army of EVs like BYD. Ford has its own incentives, too: the Model e's $1.3 billion loss in the quarter is pushing for new models to start making money.
Source: Ford
