- In what Ford is calling its modern ‘Model T moment’, the automaker has revealed a new EV production system and platform that will allow it to produce vehicles faster, and at a lower cost.
- The first vehicle to come out of of the new plans will be a fully-electric four-door pickup truck, with prices starting at just $30,000.
- With Ford failing to make a profit out of its EV division so far, the firm is hoping that this new strategy will change that.
Ford cracks the code on affordable EVs
Ford has revealed an all-new platform for affordable electric vehicles, called the Ford Universal EV Platform. Unlike a traditional car production line, vehicles produced on the new Universal EV Platform undergo three separate stages. Firstly, the front of the vehicle is produced, followed by the rear of the vehicle on a separate production line for the second stage. In a third and separate stage, the vehicle’s structural battery and interior parts are also produced, with the three branches coming together at the end and allow for faster manufacturing in a smaller amount of required space.
At the reveal, Ford also noted that the most expensive part of an EV is the battery. With that in mind, all new EVs under this platform will be powered by lithium iron phosphate (LFP), which are typically more affordable than their NMC counterparts. LFP batteries are the most popular option for Chinese electric car manufacturers, and has partly helped manufacturers such as BYD sell EVs at lower prices than their European and American counterparts. The LFP batteries will be produced in America, at its BlueOval Battery Park in Michigan.
To achieve the revolutionary new platform and production process, Ford has blended its 120 years of automaking expertise with a smaller ‘skunkworks’ engineering team in California, which carries the agility more associated with startups, helping to bring vehicles to market in a rapid fashion.
The platform will initially debut on a four-door pickup truck, with prices starting at $30,000, and will be followed by other electric car and truck models in the future. Whilst there’s little details on styling or specification yet, Ford notes that this debut model will be faster than an ICE Ecoboost Mustang, whilst having more passenger volume than a Toyota RAV4.
It remains to be seen whether European-bound models will emerge from the Universal EV Platform, with many of the cars in Ford’s European EV lineup, such as the Explorer, are based on Volkswagen’s existing MEB platform.
Doug Field, Ford’s Chief EV, Digital and Design Officer, commented:
“I don’t think new EV startups will keep up with our Ford engineers and manufacturing teams making this a reality. New ideas are easy. But innovation is delivering ideas, in a way that millions can access.”
