Ford's $30,000 EV Truck Reveals The Shocking Relationship Between Design And Battery Costs

"But Ford had to rethink truck design a bitand for good reason. Ford was one of the first traditional automakers to take electric vehicles seriously, especially after it looked with envy at Tesla's success. The Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning both enjoyed critical acclaim and strong sales in their segments, especially at first. There were only two problems: one, the sales of both were far below Ford's own projections (and what the auto industry as a whole predicted for EVs.)"

"And two, the way they're madelike conventional cars and trucks, but with expensive battery packs added inmeans that Ford lost money on each one sold. And you don't need an MBA to understand the problem with that situation. Meanwhile, Ford is spooked about the rise of China's advanced EV manufacturers around the world, and especially their advantage with costs and manufacturing. If Ford can't learn to make EVs the way China's automakers do, CEO Jim Farley has said, it does not have a future."

"The solution, then, is the Ford Universal EV Production System: a rethinking of the assembly line for a new electric platform, built from the ground up in America for EV duty. The first product on that platform will be a $30,000 battery-powered pickup due in 2027. We don't know what that truck will look like. But we know it won't have a traditional truck-like silhouette."

Ford will launch a compact electric pickup on a new Universal EV Production System platform, targeting about a $30,000 starting price and a 2027 debut. The truck will feature a frunk, a bed, and interior space larger than a Toyota RAV4 while avoiding a traditional truck silhouette. Earlier EV efforts like the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning earned praise but sold below projections and lost money because they were built like conventional vehicles with expensive battery packs. Ford aims to cut costs by redesigning production, simplifying assembly, and improving aerodynamics while learning from lower-cost competitors.

Read at insideevs.com