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Transportation Power Technology

Ford Announces Investment To Bring Affordable EVs To Market (freep.com) 130

Posted by BeauHD from the Model-T-moment dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Detroit Free Press: Ford is announcing the creation of a new electric vehicle production system and a new EV platform that will allow the automaker to more efficiently bring several lower-cost EVs to market, the first of which will be a midsize, four-door electric pickup that seats five, to launch in 2027. That pickup, which is expected to start around $30,000, will be assembled at Ford's Louisville Assembly Plant for U.S. and export markets. The Dearborn-based automaker said it will invest $2 billion to retool the Louisville plant starting later this year. [...] Ford's investment in Louisville Assembly is in addition to Ford's previously announced $3 billion commitment for BlueOval Battery Park in Marshall, Michigan, where Ford will make the prismatic LFP batteries, starting next year, for the midsize electric pickup. Together, the nearly $5 billion investments mean Ford expects to create or secure nearly 4,000 direct jobs while strengthening the domestic supply chain with dozens of new U.S.-based suppliers.

Ford executives and Kentucky officials also introduced on Monday, Aug. 11, the new Ford Universal EV Production System, which they said will simplify production and ease operations for workers. Ford leaders also announced the creation of the Ford Universal Electric Vehicle Platform, which will enable the development of "a family of affordable electric vehicles produced at scale." The vehicles will be software-defined with over-the-air updates to keep improving the vehicles over time. "We took a radical approach to solve a very hard challenge: Create affordable vehicles that are breakthrough in every way that matters design, technology, performance, space and cost of ownership and do it with American workers," Ford CEO Jim Farley said in a statement. "Nobody wants to see another good college try by a Detroit automaker to make an affordable vehicle that ends up with idled plants, layoffs and uncertainty."

Farley has teased this announcement since Ford's second-quarter earnings when he said Ford would have a "Model-T moment" on Aug. 11. He's referring to the classic vehicle that helped turn Ford into a mass market automaker and perfect the assembly line process. At that time, Farley said it was critical that Ford unveil an EV strategy that would position it to make money selling the electric cars and effectively compete against the Chinese, who are known for making high-quality, desirable and affordable EVs. "So, this has to be a good business," Farley said of Ford's investments in the new process and platform. "From Day 1, we knew there was no incremental path to success. We empowered a tiny skunkworks team three time zones away from Detroit. We reinvented the line. And we are on a path to be the first automaker to make prismatic LFP batteries in the U.S. We will not rely on imports." Ford says its new Universal Electric Vehicle Platform "reduces parts by 20% versus a typical vehicle, with 25% fewer fasteners, 40% fewer workstations dock-to-dock in the plant and 15% faster assembly time." The new EV pickup built using this platform is targeting a "starting MSRP at about $30,000, roughly the same as the Model T when adjusted for inflation," adds Farley.

He shared additional details in an interview with Wired, such as how the automaker hired Tesla veterans Doug Field (who also helped lead Apple's now-defunct EV project) and Alan Clarke. "Turns out, Doug and Alan and the team built a propulsion system that was like Apollo 13, managed down to the watt so that our battery could be so much smaller than BYD's," said Farley.

Ford Announces Investment To Bring Affordable EVs To Market More | Reply

Ford Announces Investment To Bring Affordable EVs To Market

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  • Sometimes Lightning fails to strike even once. Way to misread your actual market.

    • Sometimes Lightning fails to strike even once. Way to misread your actual market.

      I'm sure they will continue to make traditional F-150s, which is most of their actual market. People seem to like them just fine, so it may take a long time to find something people like better. This looks to not compete in that space anyway, being more budget oriented. Unlike the Lightning there is probably a market for cheaper trucks.

      • Re:RIP Ford (Score:5, Informative)

        by brunes69 ( 86786 ) <slashdot@@@keirstead...org> on Monday August 11, 2025 @10:28PM (#65583552)

        FWIW, I own a Lightning

        It is the best and most capable truck I have ever owned.

        It is also the longest range EV of anyone I know, easily surpassing the Teslas of friends of mine.

        It gets an unjustified bad rap.

        The main thing to kill the Lightning was the cost. Nothing else. As a vehicle, it is amazing.

        • Does it get a bad rap? I guess maybe for not selling as many as Ford hoped, but the people who have them seem to love them from my anecdotal experience. The regular F-150 is pretty tough to top though, so no doubt it's hard to effectively compete with themselves on price for sure.

        • It is also the longest range EV of anyone I know, easily surpassing the Teslas of friends of mine.

          Which is understandable since a full size truck will have more margins in mass and volume than a sedan or compact SUV... EUV? CUV? I don't know what they call those things, it's a funny looking car to me.

          The point is that with a larger vehicle like a 1/2 ton truck it's easier to put in a large battery without having to resort to expensive engineering and manufacturing. Just the matter of finding tires for a Tesla can push up the price quite a bit. Truck tires were already built for such weight, and with

        • Also gorgeous styling. Saw one today. Was making quite a racket "because the AC was on" whatever that means. Personally, I'm more interested in the hybrid, and not to save gas.

          • When it's hot outside a very, very powerful fan is on to move the air over the cooling coils. Not sure if that's what you heard or not. It's just a fan.

            • Never heard an hvac remotely that loud in a car. I don't think it's that anyway, apparently it's the battery fan.

        • DId you have trouble buying it? I'd seen on Reddit where it has many fans that complained about how hard the dealers tried to steer them to other vehicles
          • I don't know if this is true, but I have heard the same thing.

            If it is indeed the case Ford should be coming down HARD on those dealerships.
      • Some people just hate the American big 3 automakers, and will jump at any (perceived) opportunity to dunk on them. Don't bother trying to hold a discussion on this matter with them; they may be completely reasonable people in other aspects but they will keep telling you about how much they hated their mom's 86 Oldsmobile and how it somehow justifies hatred of every single vehicle ever made by the big 3, ever.

        • Some people just hate the American big 3 automakers, and will jump at any (perceived) opportunity to dunk on them.

          I hate them because of my experiences with them vs. the Japanese automakers. They are incompetent at everything except marketing.

          they may be completely reasonable people in other aspects but they will keep telling you about how much they hated their mom's 86 Oldsmobile

          I've owned nearly 30 vehicles starting with a 1960 Dodge Dart (which was great for its day) and now I drive a prior-generation Versa with a six speed, perhaps the most underrated vehicle of all time. It has unaccountably great suspension and plenty of power to do its job. Too bad about the poor paint, but it wasn't designed to last forever.

          I've had about half American cars, and th

          • I’ve own an ‘83 VW Jetta, a ‘95 Jeep Cherokee Sport, a 2005 VW Passat 4Motion, a 2015 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk, and a 2019 Honda Clarity PHE. Still have the last two. By far the Passat 4Motion was the worst of the bunch. Never went longer than 6 months without needing some significant repair. Beyond regular maintenance I haven’t had any issues with the Jeeps or Honda. The ‘95 I so,d at 178k miles. The 2015 still only has 82k miles on it. The Passat only had 108k when I traded it

            • The Germans are a bunch of ass clowns, and have been since the early to late nineties depending on who you talk about. BMW went to shit earliest, Mercedes latest.

        • Yeah I grew up with domestic cars (mostly 5.0 Mustangs), but am now fully hooked on German cars. And for every bit of brilliant German engineering, there is an equal and opposite "why did they do that" head shaking moment. I don't think this is specific to any particular manufacturer. Anyway, having previously had a job that allowed me to drive many new leased pickups I can safely say all the big 3 make very comfortable, capable light trucks. Decades of refinement really show there more than pretty much

      • They are already screwed with "traditional" F-150s, because their F-150s are not traditional, because they are significantly made of aluminum, not steel, and therefore are being screwed by aluminum tariffs.

    • Way to misread your actual market.

      It may seem like an odd move in the current political climate, but the USA is far behind China in the EV tech race. [insideevs.com] If all Ford wants to do is sell gas guzzlin' pickup trucks to Americans, yeah, they'd be fine to just sit on their ass, but they're probably thinking about their future in the larger global marketplace.

      There's also a possibility that the next administration brings the EV credits back, although with how far the Overton window has been kicked to the right lately, I doubt it.

    • Yes, because the company that ships more F150 trucks than any other automotive company ships of any particular model knows nothing about keeping their market happy, do they?

      Fuck your political bullshit. Product people are bringing product to market. And every product doesn't need to suit YOU.

      • My post contained no political bullshit. It was a play on words with the f150 lighting which is sitting on lots all over the US with virtually no sales; but surely you got the reference before going into a breathless progressive moment, right?

        • The F150 lightning isn't selling because it's expensive, but still is shitty at doing truck things. Towing range is piss-poor for example. People who buy expensive trucks absolutely do tow with them, because they own boats and travel trailers and whatnot.

          The new Chev/GMC electric pickups might do better, because they have something more like adequate towing range. That remains to be seen though, since they are just hitting the market.

          • The lightning is a great work crew truck. The range is plenty for taking a crew from a depot to a job site, and you don't need to bring a generator because the truck can power all the tools and charge cordless batteries. The problem is mainly charging infrastructure, for companies that lease their vehicles and facilities the chargers are an upfront investment at a property they may not even own.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by flink ( 18449 )

        The car companies created that market, because convincing a bunch of men that their masculinity was tied to dropping their kids off at school in a 5 ton truck instead of a sedan or minivan let them sell a vehicle where the profit margin was better. Culture is downwind of marketing.

    • The consumer Lightning starts at $65k, it's a truck that won't fit in most people's garages and people shopping for brand new EVs are likely looking for it to be in the garage.

      So if they do release a $30k pickup that's less than 200" long with a towing capacity of around 7k lbs or so... that could be *very* attractive. Ford knows their brand strength is pickups and small affordable EV pickup is a corner of the market not well served currently. It's not a bad choice at all for Ford to start here, maybe fol

      • Except the battery is half the size so forget towing anything further than a couple blocks.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Junta ( 36770 )

          On the occasion that I tow, the most I generally have to go is about 30 miles round trip. There is a *theoretical* trip I might make that would be 30 miles one way without towing and then 30 miles the other way without towing, but it's actually never come up.

          So a modest towing range isn't a huge deal breaker for me either.

          However, I would think it be wise for them to have some EREV option. Particular bonus points if it is reasonably removable to get the storage space as needed when the generator won't be

  • I'd be more impressed... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by HotNeedleOfInquiry ( 598897 ) on Monday August 11, 2025 @05:21PM (#65582794)
    If they invested in bringing an affordable light pickup to market.

    There's a real need for something other than a bloated $50,000 vehicle.

    • There's a real need for something other than a bloated $50,000 vehicle.

      They already sell the Maverick if you don't mind it being ICE. You can go buy one right now if you wanted to. No, it's not a $12k (roughly $21.5k in today's dollars) base model Toyota Tacoma from the early 2000s, but that kind of thing just doesn't exist anymore because market expectations have changed. A bare-bones truck with a manual tranny and crank windows just gets a hard pass from the majority of buyers, who are going to be using financing anyway and looking at a difference that ultimately boils do

      • I just find it really odd that a new ranger is actually larger (or at least very, very close) in size to my 1998 f150.
        But to your point, those barebones cars and trucks are quite literally illegal to sell in the US due to all sorts of FUN nannying by congress (safety, emissions etc). It's also why everything made now has a CVT that starts running a very real risk of turning into confetti at 50k miles (even honda and toyota are experiencing these issues to varying degrees)

        it seems as if congress just looks a

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by dfghjk ( 711126 )

          "But to your point, those barebones cars and trucks are quite literally illegal to sell in the US due to all sorts of FUN nannying by congress (safety, emissions etc). It's also why everything made now has a CVT that starts running a very real risk of turning into confetti at 50k miles (even honda and toyota are experiencing these issues to varying degrees)."
          You're a moron. "Those barebones cars and trucks" don't exist, it's not they're "literally illegal", and "everything made now" does not have a CVT nor

          • Your post is completely completely silly, and I think you're wildly out of your depth; but CVT's are reliable?
            Really?

            (The rest of your post is just as silly of course, but what's the point?)

        • I just find it really odd that a new ranger is actually larger (or at least very, very close) in size to my 1998 f150.

          That is an offense that has been committed by very nearly every automaker that sells cars or trucks in the US, and it is exceptionally well documented.

          Today's Nissan Altima is larger than the Nissan Maxima of the 1990s.

          Today's Subaru Outback is bigger than the Subaru Forester of the 1990s.

          Today's Toyota Corrolla is bigger than the Toyota Camry of the 1990s.

          It's just manufacturers responding to how they read the market. It doesn't mean it's right, it just is. But this is not a matter of just the

      • that kind of thing just doesn't exist anymore because market expectations have changed. A bare-bones truck with a manual tranny and crank windows just gets a hard pass from the majority of buyers

        When's the last time anyone offered one of those?

      • I'm buying a pickup to move stuff, not people. Maverick and Ranger don't have a 2-door configuration.

        To quote my late brother the carpenter, "If you can't easily haul a bunch of 4x8 sheets of plywood or drywall, it's not a truck, it's a toy."

    • You're not going to get that anymore than you're going to get an affordable GPU with 16 gigs of RAM and a full pcie interface.

      Companies figured out years ago that filling a market isn't nearly as profitable as just making sure you don't have any competitors to speak of and colluding out in the open with a few remaining competitors you have.

      So it's the other guy pointed out there's a another potential truck company trying to make an affordable EV and this is a shot across the bow to them.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

        If the US hadn't blocked Chinese manufacturers you would probably have affordable EV trucks already. In Europe we have brands like MG (a SAIC brand) releasing high spec SUV/crossover vehicles for under $25k before tax. They are really good cars too, very well made, quiet, plenty of power, all the features, and they actually listen to customer feedback e.g. by installing physical buttons.

        Instead you have to hope that Ford get their shit together in another few years.

    • You're lucky if you can find something as low as 50K. I priced ones recently as I was contemplating replacing my 20 year old one. 70 to replace what I have. While the truck ran just fine, it needed a bunch of preventative work - a new timing chain, new exhaust system, a number of other high ticket things. It cost me a bundle, but I have hopes it'll last me another 20 years.

  • Here's what I want (Score:5, Insightful)

    by MpVpRb ( 1423381 ) on Monday August 11, 2025 @05:22PM (#65582796)

    An EV truck that's a usable truck, with a bed made for cargo
    A well documented, open source maintenance interface for all of the fancy electronics
    Parts and service manuals readily available for independent mechanics and DIY
    The NACS charging connector

  • Is their first "lower-cost" EV a pickup truck because a pickup truck won't compete with BYD?

    • #1 Pickup trucks are hugely popular in the US market.
      #2 It's a segment Tesla has largely ignored, if public sentiment towards the Cybertruck is any indication.

      • Re:Why a pickup truck? (Score:5, Interesting)

        by SoftwareArtist ( 1472499 ) on Monday August 11, 2025 @06:10PM (#65582958)

        They're continuing to ignore the market segment I care about: economy cars. It's also a hugely popular segment. In the US there is exactly one [edmunds.com] EV you can buy for under $30,000 USD. In Europe there are lots [euronews.com].

        None of the car companies will release inexpensive electric economy cars in the US. They'd rather force EV buyers to get their more expensive models instead. In most of the world, competition from Chinese car companies forces them to offer inexpensive cars. In the US, Chinese cars are effectively banned, so they've all agreed not to release any low cost models there.

        • In the US there is exactly one [edmunds.com] EV you can buy for under $30,000 USD. I

          No one in the US really wants the damned things....even at a lower price.

          Not in any meaningful mass at this time at least....

    • No, it's because their biggest market (North America) buys more pickup trucks than anything else.

    • No, it's because it won't have to compete with any foreign-built vehicles, because of the chicken tax. They're not going to let any Chinese brands in here* any time soon, so long as the big American automakers pay the right bribes.

      * Except Volvo of course, since that was already here.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by dfghjk ( 711126 )

        Volvo isn't a "Chinese brand", it's a Swedish brand owned by a Chinese conglomerate. Those are not the same things. Lotus is owned by the same group.

        • Who they are owned by is what they actually are. Everything else is window dressing. Welcome to Capitalism. Money makes the rules, money enforces the rules, money calls the shots. They are Chinese companies with Swedish or British designers.

  • I realize it's all relative, but if you take your $30,000 at 6% for 5 years you are roughly looking at a $676.17. That's not precisely cheap.

    https://www.calculator.net/aut... [calculator.net]

    • I realize it's all relative, but if you take your $30,000 at 6% for 5 years you are roughly looking at a $676.17. That's not precisely cheap.

      https://www.calculator.net/aut... [calculator.net]

      My 2007 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara was $31,000. I'm still driving it, some 18 years later. In the long term, that $31K vehicle turned out to be pretty affordable.

      Problem is, most people don't tend to look at the long term costs of things when determining whether something is "affordable". That's unfortunate.

      • How much have you spent in those 18 years on maintenance and gas?

        Problem is, most people don't tend to look at the total cost of ownership of things when determining whether something is "affordable". That's unfortuante.

        • How much have you spent in those 18 years on maintenance and gas?

          Hard to say. If I had to estimate gas....figure 126,000 miles at an average of 14 mpg, that's 9000 gallons. I'm too lazy to figure an accurate average cost of gas, so I'll use $2.50/gallon. So, about $22K on gas, which is probably a little high. I'll group maintenance in with repairs. I've got a good handle on that figure. It's right about $25K. You didn't ask, but I'll factor in insurance as well, which is about another $9K over that period of time. So, all in, about $87K. If I sold it today, I could get

    • Inflation's a bitch.

      TFS points out that this is roughly what the Model T cost at release. Or, if you'd prefer a more recent-ish point in history, in the year 2000, it'd be priced at roughly $16.1k. That's about what you'd pay for a Toyota Tacoma if you spung for a higher trim (which is actually a more fair comparison since Ford's truck isn't likely to be a spartan, stripped-down thing like the base Tacoma was back in the day).

    • Yep. It's not.

      I bought my ICE car for 5000 GBP. Does 500 miles on one "charge", in any conditions and at motorway speeds, with 5 people on board.

      I'll think about buying an EV when EV makers match those numbers.

  • ...is more Hybrid choices. The Ford Fusion Hybrid was one of the best cars I ever owned. Low maintenance, reliable and phenomenal gas mileage. For me to do an EV, I'd have to invest in new service and electrical work to my home. There aren't many charging options in my area. And I think that there's a whole lot of people like me in the market. I feel like hybrid cars/trucks never really got developed further when E came out with the Tesla. Car companies jumped all over the market and moved on from other tec

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by jonwil ( 467024 )

      If you want a hybrid, buy a Toyota. They are the kings of hybrid for a reason and its easy to see why the likes of Ford aren't putting a lot of effort into competing with them.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Junta ( 36770 )

      I don't know about your home, but using a licensed electrician to hardwire an EVSE including cost of EVSE was like $700, which wasn't nothing but compared to the purchase price of the two EVs, it's nearly a rounding error.

      But still, if you are renting your home, or are in dense living your point absolutely stands.

      I do wonder if they'll do a gas generator option. I seem to recall someone at Ford explicitly calling out 'EREV', so it seems like it's likely top of their mind.

      • Every home is different. You are assuming there is already enough power available in the garage or where the EVs are parked.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Cyberax ( 705495 )
      Hybrids are dead. A new platform takes 3-4 years to develop, and by that time the battery-powered EVs will be able to replace all the regular ICE niches.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Xenx ( 2211586 )
      I agree that not everyone is ready/capable to switch to an EV. However, there are already plenty of hybrid options on the market. As for Ford, they appear to have given up on the car market almost entirely. The Mustang is the only car model they still have. Ford does produce hybrids, they just don't produce cars.

  • The vehicles might be competitive in the US, behind 100% EV tariff walls, but won't stand a chance in the rest of the world (except maybe Canada, which has similar tariffs). The Chinese manufacturers are way too efficient, and make really good cars.

  • Make up your mind! (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Kelxin ( 3417093 ) on Tuesday August 12, 2025 @12:31AM (#65583750)
    They literally have no clue what they're doing, besides trying to stay in the news. These are all within 2 years in chronological order: Ford releases F-150 Lightning: https://www.ford.com/trucks/f1... [ford.com] Ford F-150 Lighting production halted: https://www.caranddriver.com/n... [caranddriver.com] Ford Said to Be Planning $25,000 EV: https://www.caranddriver.com/n... [caranddriver.com] Ford suspends new EV models after further losses : https://www.argusmedia.com/ja/... [argusmedia.com] Ford Announces Investment To Bring Affordable EVs To Market: https://hardware.slashdot.org/... [slashdot.org]
  • Guess they didn't learn from the first try.

    https://www.businessinsider.co... [businessinsider.com]

    https://www.motor1.com/news/74... [motor1.com]

    https://insideevs.com/news/749... [insideevs.com]
  • So they're firing C Levels to make vehicles more affordable.

  • Ford hired Tesla veterans Doug Field and Alan Clarke and says the new platform reduces parts by 20%, has 25% fewer fasteners, and 15% faster assembly time.

    That sounds concerning. Sounds like the vehicles are designed to be snapped together once at the cost of quality, maintainability, and reliability.

    I hope that's not the case. The world doesn't need more disposable junk (at the cost of consumers and the environment). I truly hope that the vehicles based on the platform:

    • Won't be glued and snapped together in a crappy way like the Cybertruck which has led to parts falling off and even flying off at highway speeds.
    • Will be maintainable and repairable instead of
  • At least, for now, Ford appears to be staying in the EV fight. Any of the American companies that give in to the MAGA and stop trying to go electric will be declaring bankruptcy within 5 years. The world doesn't care if Trump wants the US to stay on dinosaur-burners, and to stay in business, Ford has to export vehicles to the rest of the world.

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